John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner famously said the Vice Presidency is not "worth a warm bucket of spit."

While that may be true, at least one U.S. Senator appears to be looking forward to attending a lot of funerals for the next several years.

You see, I'd like to be the first to officially throw out the hypothesis that Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) isn't running for President -- he's running to become John McCain's Vice President.

Could it be that his trips to Iowa and New Hampshire to "test the waters" is more a way to raise his profile and thus make him a more attractive VP selection?

Following are 5 reasons Sam Brownback may be eyeing the Vice Presidency ...

Money: Clearly, Brownback does not have the capacity to raise the money needed for his own independent presidential campaign. His dismal financial numbers demonstrate he is either unwilling or unable to raise the kind of money that would allow him to run on his own. Backing into the White House as VP might be his best shot ...

Ideology: And despite his recent controversial position on immigration, Brownback is still generally viewed as conservative. His conservative credentials might be attractive to a candidate (like McCain) who needs to unite the party and gain conservative credibility. (Sure, McCain loves Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). But conservatives do not view Graham as "one of us.")

Flexibility: But to be picked, Brownback will have to use finesse: He will have to simultaneously guard his image as a solid conservative who is acceptable to the Religious Right, yet avoid attacking McCain. (This would be impossible for a conservative who legitimately wanted to beat McCain in a Primary Election) Is Brownback flexible enough to pull off this seemingly impossible political maneuver? Well, he recently converted from being an Evangelical to being a Catholic (a move some view as unusual for a sitting U.S. Senator). Bottom line: He has demonstrated an ability to adapt.

Position: Another pitfall is that both McCain and Brownback are U.S. Senators. In my estimatoin, this could play to Brownback's advantage -- or his disadvantage. On one hand, the public is reluctant to elect one sitting U.S. Senator president, let alone two. Yet on the other hand, McCain might secretly fear being upstaged by picking a governor as his running mate. Additionally, Brownback is relatively young (compared to McCain). Brownback would balance the ticket (in terms of age), and he might also help assuage the fears voters have of picking an older president.

History: There is a long history of presidential candidates getting the VP nod. For example: LBJ, George H.W. Bush, Al Gore, John Edwards, etc. So Brownback's strategy is based on some solid footing. But it appears to me that every presidential candidate selected as VP was actually trying to win. LBJ tried to beat JFK. The first George Bush tried to beat Reagan, etc.

If Sam Brownback pulls off this maneuver, it would be the first time (that I know of) where a presidential campaign has been launched with the specific intent of coming in 2nd. But as you can see, it is a somewhat politically savvy maneuver for him to attempt...