"Sen. George Allen of VA was previously governor of VA."
Top notch. Name recognition is a big issue, and he, along with several others, desn't have it, yet.
Guiliani and McCain have it, as does Hillary.
To get recognition for the person favored by the WH, maybe he/she could serve the last two years as VP?
That's an intriguing idea. Caveat: only if Cheney wants to go. I really admire him. Additionally, I'm not sure how that would work, replacing a vice president. Constitutional scholars please input!
Until he stepped into the Presidential ring, there were alot of doubters about Bush also.
Allen is already a strong name in the conservative grassroots and the strong grassroots are what brought out the massive turnout for W.