I agree that Hillary may not get the nomination. As the driving force for the DIMS will be electability, an anti-Hillary candidate will emerge. Since Hill can really only deliver NY and the traditional blue states, the party elders (if there are any grown-ups left) will realize that she cannot pick up any red states to win the general election. In order to WIN (the guiding principle), they will have to find an alternative. But, if not the Hildabeast, then who can claim the nomination?
If I were running the DNC, I would put together a Mid-West strategy for victory. The starting point of this strategery is that the typically blue states (on the West Coast and in the Northeast) will fall in line for any DIM ticket. The South will again be written off, but the Mid-West is the real battleground and the place to move a red state or two into the Blue column for victory.
So, with a Mid-West strategy in mind, the Dims would be smart to go with two candidates from the Midwest. The current short list would include Evan Bayh, Tom Vilsack, and Russ Feingold. All are perceived as strong, reasonable leaders. Bayh is very popular in Indiana and would have a great chance there, but would also positively impact Ohio and Iowa (2004 Red States) and could strengthen results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota (weak Blue States for Kerry in '04). With Vilsack or Feingold on the ticket with Bayh, the DIM party could project the face of "mid-western values" that could sway independents and moderate Pubbies all over the country, but especially in the Mid-West. This is something that Hillary will never be able to project, no matter how many right leaning poses she takes.
If Hitlery does manage to get the DIM nomination, watch for her to pick one of these three as VP. She will have the same stategy, to move a Mid-West state into the Blue column.
I agree with you, Hillary is for all intensive purposes unelectable. Even if a miracle happened and she won their nod, then asked Bayh or Vilsack to run with her, she still couldn't win. Bayh and/or Vilsack would help in the Mid-West (Iowa for sure), but it would probably push New Hampshire, Maine and Oregon into the Repub column. I think a dem ticket of Bayh/Vilsack would be very formidable. They would be very tough to beat in Ohio and Iowa, two States we probably need to keep in order to win.