PM veepstakes watch
Posted: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 5:22 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats, Republicans
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO:
Rudy Giuliani showed up in a McCain press release on Obama/terrorism. Joe Biden did the same on the Dem side. And John Kerry joined the Obama conference call.
ON THE RECORD:
Is Obama breaking his supposed ban on talking about the VP selection process? He was asked by an 8-year-old Scholastic News reporter about picking Al Gore, and answered.
The New York Times has his comments: “I have just started looking through possible candidates. I haven’t made any decisions. I’m getting some recommendations... Obviously Al Gore is a great public servant. He was a great vice president. He may not want to be vice president again, since he’s already done that for eight years. But certainly he’s somebody that I’ll be getting advice from as we go forward and hopefully he’ll help me when I’m president.”
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (D) tells WisPolitics.com that he doesn’t expect to be asked to be his party's running mate, and that he’s not pursuing the job. He cites the impact it’d have on his family. “I’m 38 years old. I don’t see that phone call coming,” Ryan said.
BUZZ-METER:
There’s a new Web site touting Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor (R) for veep. “Eric is a genuine conservative who is known and trusted by conservative voters, but speaks in that rare way among moderates and independents that those voters are also comfortable with him,” said Beau Phillips, one of the site's minders. Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in the House.
The New York Times noted in its profile of Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) that his name has been mentioned in VP speculation, though Defense Secretary is more likely.
CHATTERING CLASS:
Conservative writer Ramesh Ponnuru argues that McCain should not ask a potential veep to get on the same page across the board on policy, as Lieberman was required to do in ’00.
Steve Kornacki calls Sam Nunn the “Cheney option.” “From a political standpoint, he may be exactly what Mr. Obama needs in a running mate: a seasoned, impeccably qualified and wholly reassuring figure... That Mr. Nunn is from a Southern state doesn’t hurt, and that some on the left have begun carping about his conservative record on social issues like gay rights is actually a political plus.”
E-VEEP:
Bobby Jindal sent his listserve an e-mail touting the passage of his sixth tax cut since taking office in January. The repeal of the so-called Stelly Tax “marks the biggest single income tax repeal in the history of our state,” Jindal says.
