Veep watch PM
Posted: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 5:55 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
THE SHORT LIST: NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli asked Sen. Joe Biden where he’d be Saturday, and he pointed to his Delaware driveway and said “Here.” He later told reporters, “I’m not the guy.”
Is the stock of Sen. Joe Lieberman on the rise? GOP officials may be looking at whether he can legally be on the Republican ballot, since he isn’t a party member.
The Obama campaign confirmed plans for a major event in Springfield, Illinois Saturday, but isn’t confirming that Obama’s veep will be there or whether the announcement will come that day.
ON THE RECORD: Obama praised Biden Tuesday, calling him a “friend” and echoing his call for $1 billion in reconstruction assistance for Georgia.
Rush Limbaugh called the prospect of McCain picking a pro-choice running mate “crap.” He said doing so would have “effectively destroyed the Republican Party and pushed the conservative movement into the bleachers.”
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said little at the Richmond governor’s mansion today: “The campaign is in control of all the announcements, and I’m not going to talk about my conversations with the campaign.”
Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, reminds former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge that there is a pro-life plank in the Republican platform.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Obama will “make a great choice” while announcing a “Women for Obama” effort in Michigan.
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will campaign for McCain this weekend in Ohio and Pennsylvania. And he may travel to Denver to speak out against Obama during the Democratic convention.
Lieberman departed today for Georgia, joined by Sen. Lindsay Graham. They are headed to Tbilisi, Warsaw and Kyiv.
Former Rep. Rob Portman will join McCain in Dayton, Ohio for his Aug. 29 rally, which some suggest will be when McCain announces his veep.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal held a 90-minute town hall in Napoleanville.
BUZZ METER: Halperin says Ridge “is no longer being considered” for McCain’s veep. And he wonders whether this all makes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney look a lot better.
Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner heaped praise on his successor, telling Bloomberg Television that Kaine is “really where the rubber hits the road in terms of delivering government services.”
Biden’s comments from 1988 -- in which he says “the White House isn’t the place to learn how to deal with international crisis, the balance of power, war and peace and the economic future of the next generation” -- is making the rounds.
Lieberman’s aides may be trying to get access to the vetting material his previous campaigns compiled. It is not definitely for the veepstakes, but an aide said “it would be unusual if not in the context of being vetted.”
A group called “Catholics for McCain” has launched an online petition, urging him not to pick a pro-choice running mate.
Are Virginia state officials looking at the line of succession to make arrangements for Kaine as the nominee?
Does the Secret Service even know who’ll they will be protecting in a couple of weeks?
CHATTERING CLASS: Jim Geraghty says picking Lieberman or Ridge would “suddenly and irreversibly complicate the task before him immensely,” just as McCain has been looking good.
