Veepstakes: Ferraro at it again
Posted: Monday, August 04, 2008 9:11 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Geraldine Ferraro is at it again -- this time over Clinton as VP. She claims Obama won't be "gracious" if he doesn't offer her the slot.
Kudos to Bill Kristol for writing a very readable and interesting VP speculation column about McCain -- while also leaving himself wiggle room on who could get picked.
More compiled by Matthew Berger and Carrie Dann…
The McCain camp is unsure when to announce its veep choice, but it’s more likely to wait for Obama to go first. Advisers believe waiting until after Obama’s Invesco Field speech on Aug. 28 will allow the campaign to shift focus to them quickly before their convention. “We’d be stupid to pick before they do,” one advisor told Politico. Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff says the Obama campaign is now planning to make their veep announcement the week before the Denver convention, because the short list is more fluid than generally thought.
REPUBLICANS: The candidate du jour is Rep. Eric Cantor, who was asked to provide McCain with personal documents. He is a prominent Jewish Republican and a young fiscal conservative with House leadership experience.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge says he’s still pro-choice, but doesn’t think that precludes him from being McCain’s veep. “I would think John would never make it a litmus test, but when it comes down to a nominee selecting a vice presidential running mate, it’s their decision exclusively,” Ridge said on “This Week.” “And I would respect that decision one way or another.”
Former Rep. Rob Portman said he hasn’t been vetted. “I think the whole VP thing is a little bit overrated,” he said on “Late Edition.” “It's important, but maybe the media is giving it a little bit more importance than it deserves.”
DEMOCRATS: Speculation has grown about Sen. Evan Bayh, because Obama will be in Indiana on Wednesday. Sources told Howey Politics Indiana that “details appear to be different than a normal presidential candidate visit.” And apparently if you type in obamabayh08.com, you get redirected to the DNC’s site. That doesn’t happen with other potential running mates, but a DNC official says whoever bought the domain name just chose to redirect it, and its not an official party site.
Kaine endorsed Joe Lieberman in 2004 in the primary over John Kerry and John Edwards. Said Kaine at the time: “Joe is the right person to revive the Harry Truman wing of the Democratic Party, which has traditionally been strong for national defense, strong for the economy and strong for equal opportunity.” Kaine's hometown paper offers a lengthy description of his political style. Allies say that he's a compromiser who believes in bipartisanship and sunny optimism; opponents note a partisan streak with a penchant for stalemate.
Nancy Pelosi again pushed Rep. Chet Edwards on “This Week.”
