Wednesday-Night

June 5
Clinton Says V.P. Is Obama’s Choice
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today disavowed a campaign by some of her supporters to pressure Senator Barack Obama into choosing her as a running-mate, saying they were acting on their own and the decision on who to pick was “Senator Obama’s and his alone.”
Mr. Obama’s campaign responded in a polite if opaque manner.
“We appreciate Senator Clinton’s statement, she has a unique recognition that a nominee must go about this important process in an orderly and rigorous way,” said David Plouffe, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager. “And as for that process, we will not be speaking about it until Senator Obama has made his selection.”
Webb’s Audition: Blasts McCain, Assesses Obama’s Appalachia Problem
Webb is seen as a natural complement to an Obama presidency. Beyond reaching a set of voters with whom the presumptive Democratic nominee has had difficulties (working class whites), the Virginia Democrat brings with him military and foreign policy experience, and the ability to say he was against the Iraq war (as well as the first Persian Gulf War) before it was launched.
June 4
Caroline Kennedy on Obama VP search team
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Caroline Kennedy, daughter of assassinated president John F. Kennedy, is part of a three-strong team searching for Democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama’s vice presidential pick.
The decision, the latest sign of the close ties between Obama and the storied Kennedy dynasty, was announced by the Illinois senator’s campaign Wednesday, the day after he captured the Democratic White House nomination.
The team also includes former deputy attorney general Eric Holder and Jim Johnson, who performed the same function for former Democratic nominees Walter Mondale and John Kerry.
April 10
Vice President Biden
… The Biden suggestion is being met with mixed reactions from liberal bloggers. Washington Monthly’s Kevin Drum offers a well-thought rationale for why the Biden choice would work.
April 8
Vice President Condoleezza Rice? A coy non-denial
… Rice was asked to give a “Shermanesque” denial that she would accept an offer by McCain to become his running mate. She did not. But she did talk A LOT about all the important world leaders she knows and how she’s working to solve the world’s problems. Oh, and isn’t John McCain the greatest?
April 7
Obama: No Need For Foreign Policy Help From V.P.
(Huffington Post) Last night at a fundraiser in San Francisco, Barack Obama took a question on what he’s looking for in a running mate. “I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I’m not as expert on,” he said, and then he was off and running. “I think a lot of people assume that might be some sort of military thing to make me look more Commander-in-Chief-like. Ironically, this is an area–foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain.”
February 26
(RealClearPolitics)– “If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach — and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy — I’ll join others in helping that candidate win the White House,” writes New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, offering a New York Times op-ed finally slamming the door on a potential White House bid. One thing that might challenge both parties’ orthodoxy: Selecting the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent businessman as their vice presidential nominee. Speculation runs rampant.

February 18
(Politico) Steadfast McCain ally sparks veep talk
Even through the McCain campaign’s darkest days in 2007, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty remained a steadfast ally to the Arizona senator in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
February 16
(National Post) Clinton, Obama a Democrat dream ticket? Maybe, maybe not
Sheldon Alberts, Canwest News Washington Correspondent
The idea that Clinton and Obama might team up to form a ‘dream ticket’ in the 2008 election has captivated pundits and party activists in recent weeks, with the din of speculation about a political partnership growing louder the longer the two candidates battle each other to a draw in presidential primaries.
[But] There are compelling reasons to believe neither Ms. Clinton nor Mr. Obama would want to give up their current independence and visibility in the U.S. Senate to play second fiddle in the White House.
If Ms. Clinton loses to Mr. Obama, the New York senator would face the prospect of being vice-president to a much younger commander-in-chief who was determined to implement his own agenda. Ms. Clinton couldn’t tolerate being overshadowed, say her critics.The more attractive option for Ms. Clinton if she loses to Mr. Obama, then, might be to return to Congress and position herself to become the party’s leader in the Senate.
The idea of becoming vice-president could be even more unpalatable to Mr. Obama, who is only 46 and may be eyeing another presidential campaign in the future.
Under that scenario, “he might want the freedom to express his own views, rather than be forced to travel the chicken-and-peas circuit touting the views of the [Clinton] administration,” says Mr. Walch.
The added concern for Mr. Obama is whether he would have any real influence in a White House where he’d be competing with former president Bill Clinton for attention and responsibility. “For Obama, it means coming into the White House as the Number 3 person,” says Mr. Goldstein. “He’d be wondering whether he was going to be doing nothing except attending funerals and inaugurations.”
The more plausible scenario, he believes, is that Ms. Clinton would seek to balance her ticket by selecting a Democratic governor from a highly competitive ‘swing’ state, or picking someone with military credentials to offset the Republican candidacy of John McCain.
If Mr. Obama wins the nomination, he might try to counter Mr. McCain’s experience by choosing a seasoned Democratic veteran as his running mate.
Proponents [of a Clinton-Obama/Obama-Clinton ticket] argue Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama complement each other in ways that go beyond the compelling aspects of race and gender. Democrats see in Mr. Obama a powerful orator who can inspire a divided nation. In Ms. Clinton, they see an extremely smart candidate with experience and policy depth.
The possibility of an Obama-Clinton alliance increases the longer the race continues, especially if there is no clear winner before the party’s August convention in Denver.
Leave it to our media to find a Canadian connection. If not VP, than a good choice as Ambassador to Ottawa.
Ex-Rough Rider may share GOP ticket - J.C. Watts
Peter Goodspeed, National Post
With U.S. Senator John Mc-Cain having all but nailed down the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, the search for a possible vice-presidential running mate is in full swing.
One possible name … J.C. Watts, a former Oklahoma lawmaker, was the last black Republican to serve in Congress and is good friends with Mr. McCain.
Canadians know him better as the former quarterback of the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Rough Riders who won the Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Player award in 1981.
In a side bar to these stories, Canwest offers the following alternatives. It’s interesting that John Edwards doesn’t appear on either Hillary’s or Obama’s list. Should be entertaining to revisit these lists over the next few months
In The Running? Possible vice-presidential choices
DEMOCRATS
HILLARY CLINTON
- General Wesley Clark Former NATO supreme commander, presidential candidate and long-time Clinton ally.Would provide added credibility on national security issues.
- Ted Strickland Ohio Governor could help win swing state that decided 2004 election.
- Mark Warner Former Virginia governor and popular moderate from Southern state Democrats believe is tilting their way.
- James Webb Virginia Senator and popular moderate.
- Evan Bayh Indiana Senator and another moderate from Republican red state.
- Bill Richardson New Mexico Governor, politically moderate Hispanic. Could help motivate Latino voters.
BARACK OBAMA
- Kathleen Sebelius Kansas Governor and rising Democratic star would give ticket gender balance and clout in a state that voted Republican in 2004, and reinforce “change” message.
- Janet Napolitano Arizona Governor: Same as Sebelius.
- Joseph Biden Delaware Senator and foreign-policy expert who could balance Obama’s lack of inexperience in that area.
- Christopher Dodd Connecticut Senator; same strengths as Biden, but less of a microphone hog.
REPUBLICANS
JOHN McCAIN
- Condoleezza Rice U.S. Secretary of State. Name floated by supporters who hope she would shore up McCain’s support among Bush conservatives, while adding racial and gender balance. Rice says she’s returning to academia.
- Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas governor with proven appeal to religious conservatives.
- Charlie Crist Popular Florida Governor. Remember Florida in 2000? Enough said.