Is there a Registry setting that I can look for to determine whether or not the Visual C++ redistributable is installed, whether standalone or as part of Visual Studio 2008?
Check the registry:
VC++2008 (sp1): HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{3C3D696B-0DB7-3C6D-A356-3DB8CE541918}
or
VC++2008 (original): HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{FF66E9F6-83E7-3A3E-AF14-8DE9A809A6A4}