in at No. 3 because , as the senator from Tennessee , he brought Washington experience to a ticket featuring a little-known governor from Arkansas . Watch how this year 's VP contenders are performing '' Edwards puts George H.W. Bush in the No. 2 spot . After running against Ronald Reagan in the 1980 primaries , Bush joined him on the ticket and helped unite the Republican Party . Edwards ' award for best vice presidential pick goes to Lyndon B. Johnson . He was selected by Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kennedy . Kennedy was a Northerner who needed someone to balance him out in the South in 1960 . `` Lyndon Johnson was the man , and he delivered Texas , which helped John Kennedy in a very close race , '' Edwards said . Johnson rounds out the good list , but who will go down in history with a not-so-favorable reputation ? Edwards has four picks . iReport.com : Who would you pick for VP ? Cheney is No. 4 on the list of the bad VPs . -LRB- Yes , he makes both lists . -RRB- He might have been a great choice for
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When it comes to vice presidential picks , there have been some good ones and some not so good ones . Dick Cheney makes both lists ; he 's ranked as one of the best and worst VP picks in recent years . CNN asked conservative historian Lee Edwards to rank the VP choices since the 1950s . On his list of good VP picks , Edwards puts Dick Cheney at No. 5 . The current vice president makes the list because he brought lots of Washington experience with him , something President Bush lacked at the time . Coming in at No. 4 is Richard Nixon . He was Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower 's running mate . Nixon brought with him youth -- and California . The former senator also had other assets that became huge liabilities when he later ended up in the White House . `` Richard Nixon was known as the man who would cut and slash the opposition , and so that kind of dirty politics work would be done by Nixon , '' Edwards said . Next on the list , Al Gore . Bill Clinton 's right-hand man comes