As radio talk-show host Michael Graham recently pointed out in National Review Online, several months ago, Presidential hopeful John Kerry handed five very clear criteria to his search committee when charging its members with building a list of potential running mates. Kerry wanted "someone with a distinguished record of leadership, someone committed to Kerry's core agenda, someone with the ability to campaign in all parts of the country, someone compatible with Kerry 'on every level' and someone immediately ready to assume the presidency at any moment."

While Kerry’s announcement this week that he’s chosen less-than-one-term Senator John Edwards from North Carolina as his running mate was hardly a surprise, a simple comparison of Kerry’s criteria with the record of the very-rich-trial-lawyer-recently-turned-politician causes one to pause when considering John Edwards’ qualifications to be first in the line of presidential succession.

First, does John Edwards have a "distinguished record of leadership" and is he ready to "assume the presidency at any moment?"

Prior to being elected to the United States Senate in 1998, John Edwards never served in public office. In fact, he wasn’t even active in politics, never having worked on a political campaign or run for any elective office. Between 1991 and 1998, Edwards failed consistently to even exercise his most fundamental civic duty — he voted in merely half of the elections in which he could have during that seven-year period. His justification? According to The New York Times, "[Edwards] says, he was too busy with his legal work."

As a Senator, Edwards has no legislative accomplishments to speak of — NONE. During his short tenure in the world’s most deliberative body, Edwards has been the lead sponsor on 74 pieces of legislation, none of which has emerged from a relevant Committee and been voted on by the full Senate. In fact, in March of 2001, one of Edwards’ home-state newspapers, the Wilmington Morning Star, editorialized, "Our junior Senator is smart, charming, a smooth talker, nice looking, and a progressive Southern Democrat. … He’s built a solid record on TV talk shows, but not a solid record of legislative accomplishment…"

On national security issues, one need only look at what John Kerry himself had to say earlier this year regarding Edwards’ inexperience. In February, Kerry said of Edwards in the Los Angeles Times, "I think the American people want an experienced hand at the helm of state. This is not the time for on-the-job training in the White House on national security issues." Just one month earlier, Kerry was quoted in The New York Times as saying, "When I came back from Vietnam in 1969, I don’t know if John Edwards was out of diapers then."

Having no legislative accomplishments, no military experience and no service in any public office prior to joining the Senate less than one term ago, Edwards hardly possesses a "distinguished record" and the qualifications necessary to "assume the presidency at any moment." Even the most ardent supporters of the Kerry-Edwards ticket can recognize that.

At least John Edwards does fulfill two of John Kerry’s criteria. No one can argue with the fact that Edwards is fully "committed to Kerry's core agenda," and he’s certainly "compatible with Kerry ‘on every level.’"

According to annual ratings produced by the non-partisan National Journal, Kerry, the most liberal member of the United States Senate, chose the second most liberal Senator to be his Vice Presidential running mate, making the Kerry-Edwards ticket the most liberal in modern political history — even more so than the Mondale-Ferraro ticket in 1984. Actually, while it may be hard to fathom, using the National Journal ratings, a ticket consisting of Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton would be more conservative (well, less liberal — let’s not get too carried away) than the Kerry-Edwards offering.

Both Kerry and Edwards voted against all of President Bush’s tax cuts, which have been widely credited for helping to jumpstart the nation’s economy post 9-11. Both Senators have supported massive new federal spending. According to an analysis done by the National Taxpayers’ Union, in the first session of the 108^th Congress, "Edwards supported legislation which, if enacted in its entirety, would increase federal spending by $92.1 billion per year." According to the same analysis, John Kerry’s legislative agenda would have increased federal spending by more than $180 billion per year.

Both Kerry and Edwards voted to give the President authority to go to war in Iraq — before voting against the $87 billion needed to adequately equip our troops for the war effort. Yes, that’s right, both voted for it before they voted against it.

Both Senators claim to connect with average Americans and preach a rural populist message. But both Kerry and Edwards are multi-millionaires. Edwards, whose net worth is estimated to be at least $38 million, made his money as a high-profile personal injury lawyer. In campaign commercials during his 1998 Senate race, Edwards claimed to have worked his way through college loading UPS trucks. But according to company records, as revealed by The News & Observer [Raleigh, NC], Edwards only worked for UPS for six months during his junior year at North Carolina State University.

Kerry is living off the Heinz fortune.

Last year, when Edwards was asked by a reporter in New Hampshire what the make and model of his family’s vehicles were, the Senator responded, "A truck, probably a Ford or a Chevrolet. It’s white and it is sitting in front of my house." And, we all know about the SUVs sitting in John Kerry’s driveway — that aren’t his.

Finally, does John Edwards have the ability to "campaign in all parts of the country?"

Edwards brings charisma to the ticket, a strong knack for campaigning, photogenic charm and a hell of an ability to raise money — so say "the experts." Yet despite those traits, it is widely acknowledged that Edwards stood to lose his Senate seat. In addition to his lack of legislative accomplishments, Edwards missed more votes during his term in the Senate than many of his colleagues combined. He missed so many votes that his hometown newspaper nicknamed him "Senator Gone." Recognizing his constituents’ frustration, Edwards announced last year that he would not seek re-election.

If it is true that Edwards would have trouble garnering support for re-election to the Senate from the very people who know him best, it is hard to imagine that he will be any more successful in a national campaign.

Is John Edwards qualified to be the Vice President of the United States? That is a question for voters to decide in November. But based on John Kerry’s own criteria, the definitive answer may in fact be "NO."