Are Maryland's U.S. senators interested in being vice president?

Don't expect Maryland's U.S. senators to be a presidential runningmate. In a survey of the U.S. Senate's membership not already running for president on whether they'd accept an offer to be vice president, The Hill newspaper found a variety of responses to the veepstakes question. Some were accompanied by laughs, others took the question seriously.

So, how did Democrats Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski respond?

Says Cardin: "Other than you and my wife, I'm not sure anyone else has asked me. Obviously, it's a position that I think is critically important, that the right person who can lead the nation be selected as vice president, someone who's compatible with the president, and someone who can add balance to the ticket. So I'm not going to presume to answer that as far as any specific people, including myself. But I'm in the United States Senate. To be president of the Senate would be a great honor."

Says Mikulski: "Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I would be great. First of all, I know how to behave at weddings and funerals. And I know how to be commander in chief. I'd bring a lot of fun to the job. We would rock the Naval Observatory."