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McCain, Obama gauge support by appearing with prospective running mates
By Adam Nagourney
and Patrick Healy
New York Times
Published on Sunday, Jul 20, 2008
For all the lengths Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama have gone to in keeping their hunt for a vice president under wraps, their deliberations are in some ways being conducted in plain sight.
There was McCain appearing yet again with Mitt Romney, his former rival for the Republican nomination and a frequently mentioned possibility for the No. 2 spot, in Detroit on Friday. In Indiana last week, Obama appeared with two of the names on Democratic lists, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia.
McCain walked down the steps of his chartered airplane in Minneapolis the other day to find Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota ready to introduce him to dignitaries in front of a phalanx of cameras.
On his trip to Afghanistan this weekend, Obama was accompanied by two senators whose foreign policy acumen and similar positions on the war make them intriguing long shots: Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.
Although aides to both McCain and Obama were quick to discount the idea that such appearances are vice presidential tryouts, these moments are calculated and do provide a chance for the candidates and their aides to assess how they and their prospective running mates look as a ticket as projected through the media. That is no small thing, as
could arguably be seen in Bayh's eyes last week as he cast a vice-presidential gaze at Obama.
And the accelerated pace of these appearances is a reminder that although both campaigns are going to great lengths to keep the process a secret — officials in both headquarters are fiercely competitive about which side will do a better job in preventing leaks — this search is moving into its endgame.
Obama is likely to announce his choice the week before the Democratic convention begins on Aug. 25, party officials said. McCain is leaning toward announcing his as soon as the Democratic convention is over, though associates said he has not ruled out making the announcement before the Olympics begin on Aug. 8.
Risky vs. safe choice
As the process unfolds, strategic imperatives for the two candidates have become clearer.
Members of both parties said Obama, 46, should not be looking to make any dramatic or risky moves that would divert attention from his role as the would-be head of a new generation of leadership seeking to make a clean break from the politics of the past.
By contrast, McCain, 71, has good reason to look for a choice that would change the landscape, a point that some of his own advisers are making to him.
''Republicans need to do something to shake things up,'' said Steve Elmendorf, who played a significant role in the vice-presidential search as a deputy campaign manager for Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic nominee in 2004. ''Barack is in a different situation, and he needs somebody who can be safe and steady.''
Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist who led Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign this year, said McCain ''needs to pick someone who will really energize and excite the party, but also someone with whom McCain feels a real comfort level and is young enough for those worried about the age issue.''
For Obama, there is no shortage of what Democrats describe as do-no-harm people he can pick: Bayh; Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware; Nunn; or Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who introduced Obama at a huge rally in Northern Virginia two days after he effectively won the nomination and whom many Democrats see as one of the more intriguing names on Obama's list.
Woman on ticket?
Democrats said they thought it was less likely now than it was a month ago that Obama would choose Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York as his running mate, though they said she remained in consideration and that she was being vetted.
If he does not choose Clinton, several Democrats said, it would be difficult for him to name any woman — like Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, someone for whom he has had warm words. Both Clinton and Obama advisers said such a move could create a backlash among women who supported Clinton.
Should McCain decide he wants to shake things up, his options would appear to be limited. Many of the biggest brand names in the Republican Party — like Colin Powell, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida — are politically tarnished or have signaled that they have no interest.
Other members of the take-a-chance-on-me category would bring baggage.
They include Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the nation's first Homeland Security secretary.
Ridge would help McCain compete in Pennsylvania, a state that is always close and that McCain would love to win.
But Ridge also supports abortion rights, which means that while McCain might gain some points in his effort to appeal to independents, he would inflame conservatives who have never been happy about his candidacy.
Or he could pick Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. Putting a woman on the ticket would certainly qualify as shaking things up, with the added incentive of allowing him to make a play for Democratic and independent women who supported Clinton in the Democratic primary and are unwilling to shift to Obama.
Get the full article here.
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