I've been listening to the talking heads for a while now, and contemplating on my own. Sure, there are lots of high-profile candidates like Florida Governor Charlie Crist that "make sense" for all the safe, normal reasons. These five candidates may not be the best choices for John McCain, nor for the Republican party, but any one of them will certainly keep the talking heads busy for weeks:

• Michael Bloomberg -- As mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg has something neither of the present candidates has - he's actually run something bigger than a Senate office. In fact, with McCain's self-confessed deficiency with economic issues, Mayor Bloomberg's corporate experience at Salomon Brothers and Bloomberg LP makes him an ideal point-man to take on the stalling U.S. economy.
  
  He should be a favorite on Wall Street and, while he won't help put any states in play, he could certainly make parts of the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area more difficult for the Obama campaign. Plus, this will help reinforce the idea that McCain is more of an independent than a diehard conservative. (This all goes out the window, of course, if Obama picks Bloomberg first...)
  
  
• Condoleezza Rice --  Obama has already begun painting McCain as a rehash of the Bush administration, so why not work against that idea? Dr. Rice, as former National Security Advisor and current Secretary of State under Bush, has the national security chops to stand up to anybody the Democrats throw at her. She's also got the double-whammy of being a woman and a minority, so the reverse race card won't be nearly as effective. (Not that I expect such shenanigans from the Obama campaign, but there are always third-party political action committees like MoveOn.org that are capable of anything...) Finally, Condoleezza brings a fresh and younger perspective to balance out the older-not-quite-so-fresh McCain, one that could resonate much more effectively with younger voters.
  
  Of course, there's that Bush/Iraq connection...
  
  
• Joe Lieberman -- Senator Lieberman is a good friend of John McCain, and as presidential teams go there is alot to be said for the President and Vice President getting along well. Senator Lieberman, like McCain, is also viewed as a maverick, having run for his Senate seat as an Independent after the Democrats sold him out last fall.
  
  Lieberman also has foreign policy chops, and has good relationships with many world leaders. He could also help put Connecticut in play, and while it isn't a swing state every electoral vote counts. (He also can help deliver the Jewish vote.)
  
  A Lieberman choice would demonstrate that McCain is ready to work across party line. On the downside, how many diehard Republicans will stand for a Democratic-leaning independent in the #2 slot?
  
  
• Rudy Giuliani -- Everything I said about Michael Bloomberg goes double for Rudy Giuliani. He has the experience of running both a city and a corporation, and in addition has his years in the Attorney General's office to fatten up his tough-on-crime chops. (He even had mobsters contemplating a "hit" on him -- how many VP candidates can say that?)
  
  With all that, he also has his center-stage status during the worst terrorist incident ever on US soil, where he demonstrated the balls to drag his city back from the brink. That was pure leadership, more so than anything I've seen from any of the others Democrat or Republican. It remains to be seen if that was his finest hour, or merely a foreshadowing of things to come.
  
  His big downside comes from his more liberal stance on several social issues like gay marriage and abortion, which could make the party faithful freak out.
  
  
• Ron Paul -- The one thing that McCain needs desperately is campaign funds, and Ron Paul's followers have shown they can deliver that in spades. Congressman Paul has captured something on the internet, with followers willing to work tirelessly to spread his message. As part of the Republican ticket, he can bring those followers into the campaign again, countering the similar demographic fueling Obama's successes.
  
  Like Obama, Congressman Paul also has been anti-war from the start. He also could appeal to the conservative base in the party, although his conservativeness borders on Libertarian.

As I said, any of these would be controversial enough to keep the talking heads in business for many days. Not sure which would be open to the idea, or even if McCain would consider them. It's fun to speculate though, isn't it?

(Check out my choices for the five most controversial Democratic Vice Presidential candidates.)

P.S. Don't miss my bonus controversial Republican vice presidential candidate.