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WORLD> America
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Obama, McCain quietly begin searching for VP nominees
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-23 10:37 Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Obama's vice presidential selection process "is clearly premature in that he is not yet the nominee." He also said the Clinton campaign didn't have a similar process under way and there had been no discussions with the Obama campaign about her becoming Obama's No. 2. Some Democrats are calling on Obama to pick Clinton as his vice president. Obama leads Clinton in the delegate count and it is virtually impossible for her to catch up with only three primaries remaining. Obama has 1,965 delegates to Clinton's 1,780, with 2,026 needed to win the nomination. On the Republican side, the vice presidential speculation about McCain has been going on for months, fueled in part by the candidate himself. Last month, he told reporters he was in the "embryonic stages" of the search with a list of about 20 names. This weekend McCain is hosting at least three Republicans mentioned as potential vice presidential running mates at his Sedona, Arizona, home _ Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A top aide said it's a social event with more than two dozen guests not meant for vice presidential vetting, but the socializing is a prime opportunity for would-be running mates. On Thursday, McCain tackled a thornier issue, rejecting the months-old endorsement of an influential Texas televangelist after a recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land. McCain called the Rev. John Hagee's comments "deeply offensive and indefensible." He said was not aware of Hagee's endorsement but that he rejected it. Hagee quickly responded by withdrawing the endorsement. Hagee also has made anti-Catholic remarks, referring to the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and a "false cult system." The Democratic primaries will draw to a close June 3. Three contests remain: Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana. However, the deciding delegates are likely to come from superdelegates - party officials who can vote for whomever they want _ because there are not enough pledged delegates from the primaries and caucuses left for a candidate to make it to the 2,026 mark. Clinton has pushed for Florida and Michigan delegates to be counted, hoping that it would keep her campaign afloat. While Clinton won Michigan's and Florida's primaries, neither she nor Obama campaigned in either state and Obama kept his name off the Michigan ballot. Obama's camp has begun turning its focus to the general election, rapidly adding to its staff, both at the headquarters and in general election swing states. Obama has been traveling to some of those battlegrounds - Missouri, Michigan, Iowa and Florida in the last nine days - while the campaign is registering voters across the country. Obama plans to mix primary and general election campaign travel in the next week, with stops in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado. |
