Virginians keep making cameo appearances in the 2008 presidential campaign.

Two years ago, many pundits considered George Allen the leading contender for the GOP nomination, while Mark Warner was ranked as high as No. 2 on several prognosticators' lists of top candidates for the Democratic nod. Both former governors dropped out of contention.

Warner withdrew before actually declaring and later set his sights on Virginia's open Senate seat. Allen was dumped from the race when he lost his own Senate seat in November 2006.

Former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore launched a brief bid for the White House before turning his attention to the same Senate seat that Mark Warner's seeking.

The latest gossip surrounds Sen. Jim Webb and Gov. Tim Kaine. Both Democrats are being touted as possible running mates for Barack Obama.

Webb's red-haired Scots-Irish persona, combined with his military service, his strong grasp of international affairs, and his populist economic stances, could help offset Obama's perceived weaknesses with blue-collar voters and national-security hawks. Plus, Webb's history as a former Republican adds weight to Obama's post-partisan appeal.

Kaine, who was the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse Obama, would bring executive experience to the ticket as well as a talent for speaking with real sincerity about faith and values. A devout Catholic and a reliable liberal on social issues, Kaine is the rare politician who could improve Obama's prospects both in key border states and among Catholic swing voters in the battleground states of the Northeast and Midwest.

OF COURSE, both Kaine and Webb would boost Obama's chances of carrying Virginia, whose electoral votes might be crucial to forging a Democratic majority.

Mark Warner is probably the Democrat whose presence on the ticket would most increase his party's chances of winning the Old Dominion this fall. That may explain why at least a handful of crystal-ball gazers, including columnist David Brooks during his recent talk at the Richmond Forum, have suggested Warner might abandon the Senate race -- which he seems likely to win -- to accept the No. 2 spot on the national ticket.

Brooks envisioned Warner as running mate to Hillary Clinton, but others have suggested his moderate reputation, business background, and gubernatorial experience would help Obama as well.

Any of the three Virginians could find themselves on the national ticket, though Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio -- a Clinton supporter and former Methodist minister -- appears to offer the best path to party harmony, blue-collar appeal, and Ohio's 20 electoral votes, which are even more important than Virginia's 13.

So after all the whispering, guessing, hoping, and demurring, will Virginia come up empty in the 2008 national candidate sweepstakes?

Perhaps not.

ONE LOCAL pol whose name has not been mentioned could make the perfect running mate -- for Republican John McCain.

Rep. Eric Cantor is 44. McCain is 71.

As a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Cantor brings the clout and experience on economic and tax issues that many believe McCain lacks. He was a businessman before being elected to the House in 2000 and has been an eloquent spokesman for pro-growth policies ever since.

Cantor would energize economic conservatives in a way that McCain has not, and he possesses the skill and expertise to attack the Democrats' high tax, anti-trade, big government platform as precisely the wrong medicine for a struggling economy. (His wife, Diana, also plays in the financial major leagues, serving for more than a decade as executive director of the Virginia College Savings Plan. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Media General, which owns this newspaper.)

As the Republican chief deputy whip in the House, Cantor is one of the youngest members of the congressional leadership. And in this year of group firsts, Cantor would be the first Jewish nominee on a national Republican ticket.

His consistent, staunch defense of Israel's interests could strengthen McCain's already respectable standing among traditionally Democratic Jewish voters, many of whom are growing nervous about Obama's pastor's embrace of the anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan. Jimmy Carter's get-together with Hamas terrorists offered another reminder that left-wing Democrats often lend tepid support to Israel.

The congressman from Richmond would keep Virginia and Florida in the GOP column and could help McCain in Northeastern states, such as New Jersey, where the Arizona senator appears to be running better than recent Republican presidential candidates.

Most people who know Cantor believe that his ultimate goal is to become speaker of the House. But with Republicans likely to lose seats this fall -- perhaps a lot of seats -- Cantor might best serve party and country by joining the McCain team.

Brooks may have been playing to the hometown crowd during his Forum speech, but he mentioned just one Republican when asked who he thought might be president in 2016: Eric Cantor.
Contact Bob Rayner at (804) 649-6073 or brayner@timesdispatch.com.