People throw themselves into presidential primaries for all sorts of reasons, only one of which is the hope and expectation that they will be on the ballot in the November quadrennial. In 1991, the Democratic Party was having an equivalent will-he-or-won’t-he over the intentions of New York Governor Mario Cuomo, whom polls indicated would enter the race as odds-on favorite for the nomination. The possibility that Cuomo would run didn’t stop an ambitious young governor from Arkansas from entering the contest. I’m pretty sure Bill Clinton was confident that he could be elected president one day. But I’m not sure he was confident that it would be in November 1992. His campaign in its early months had some of the aroma of a practice run. And a practice run can be a very valuable experience; Ronald Reagan in 1976 is an obvious example.

Is there no youngish Democratic pol out there thinking eight or 12 years down the road? None of the following—Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, representatives Chris Van Hollen and Patrick Murphy—would consider running a hopeless race just to generate national exposure and campaign experience, and to begin building a database to match their long-term aspirations?

Politicians have also been known to run for president as a way of becoming vice president. John Edwards was elected to the Senate from North Carolina in 1998, his first bid for public office, and would have had serious trouble holding the seat in 2004 if he chose to run for reelection. Either way, a dead end for his political career. So almost immediately, the new senator started giving speeches in Iowa. His relative inexperience made him an implausible presidential nominee, but a perfectly plausible vice presidential nominee. Win or lose in the general, the vice presidential nomination can be a way-station to an eventual presidential nomination.