Despite the Sarah Palin phenomenon, whatever it may ultimately yield, commentators continue to declare that vice presidential nominees rarely affect the outcome of presidential elections.  The truth of this axiom depends on the meaning of the word rarely.  Good choices, bad choices, and  missed choices--usually in combination--have influenced as many as five of the presidential elections since 1960.  And "rarely" might be changed to "frequently" if we recognize that only six or seven of those twelve elections were competitive.  The main names to keep in mind are Nelson Rockefeller (twice), Henry Cabot Lodge, Lyndon Johnson, Spiro Agnew, Edmund Muskie, Robert Dole, Walter Mondale, and Joseph Lieberman--but let's not forget Curtis LeMay, A. B. (Happy) Chandler, and  Richard Gephardt.

The close 1960 election is most often acknowledged as an exception to the rule.  If Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Richard Nixon's first choice for vice president, had been interested, the Republicans probably would have won his home state of New York.  If Lyndon Johnson had refuse