Kaine stays mum on Veep buzz

[Kristina]

Kaine stays mum on Veep buzz
Posted: 10:57 AM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney


 
Kaine is staying mum on reports he is on the top of Obama's VP list.
(CNN) — The vice presidential buzz is circling around Gov. Tim Kaine, but the Virginia Democrat refused to address the speculation in a radio interview Tuesday.

"What I said about this is that I have been on board with the campaign since February 2007, but I don't talk about my conversations with the campaign," the first-term governor told Washington radio station WTOP. "You know I save my advice, thoughts, etc., for those conversations and I don't really share them."

Kaine, who hails from an increasingly purple state the Obama campaign hopes to snatch from Republicans this cycle, has long been considered a top vice presidential prospect. But speculation increased Monday night after both the Washington Post and the Politico reported Kaine is on top of the Illinois senator's VP short list.

According to the Washington Post, Kaine has told his close advisers he has had "very serious" conversations with the Obama campaign about the position and is eagerly jockeying for it.

CNN Political Market: Kaine's stock on the rise

But speaking to WTOP on Tuesday, Kaine said he did not endorse Obama to "get anything or get appointed to anything."

"It's flattering to be mentioned, my mom loves it, she calls me, she sees it," he said. "But that's for the campaign to decide. The campaign has made very good decisions thus far. And I think, how ever they decide, they are going to make a very good decision about Senator Obama's running mate."

CNN Election Center: Who's on the VP shortlist?

Later in the broadcast, Kaine also refused to say whether he has any meetings planned with Obama: "I've got my 13-year old daughter in the studio. We have a date right after this and that's the only thing on my calendar."

Many political observers have noted Kaine would bring several advantages to the Democratic ticket — in addition to hailing from a conservative-to-moderate state, he has never served in Washington and could easily espouse Obama's message of change. He, like Obama, is also a fresh face in political circles and a graduate of Harvard Law School.

But Kaine has only served as governor for three years, and it's likely his name on the ticket will do little to assuage voter concerns that Obama lacks the experience to be president. Kaine also does little to shore up the Illinois senator's short resume on national security credentials.

Filed under: Barack Obama • Tim Kaine

[Kristina]

Obama heads to VP vetter’s office building
Posted: 08:47 AM ET




From CNN's Alexander Marquardt, CNN's Alexander Mooney

 
Obama headed into the office building of VP vetter Monday.
(CNN) – In a sign Barack Obama may be moving closer to selecting a running mate, the Democratic presidential candidate was spotted Monday heading into the Washington office building of his top VP vetter, Eric Holder

Following a roundtable with some of his top economic advisors, Obama headed to the downtown Washington law offices of Covington and Burling, where Holder is a partner. He declined to answer any questions on his way in.

CNN Political Market: Who will Obama choose?

Holder, along with Caroline Kennedy, is principally in charge of steering the Illinois senator's search for a No. 2. Longtime Washington insider Jim Johnson had also been leading the search but stepped down last month amid questions over favorable loans from Countrywide Financial.

Caroline Kennedy is also reportedly in Washington Monday for a Democratic National Committee fundraising event.

Obama's campaign wouldn't comment on the meeting, though he's expected to spend nearly two hours there before heading to a fundraiser in Arlington. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, as well as senior advisers David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, are also traveling with Obama Monday, though it is unclear if they are attending the meeting.

Speaking with NBC Sunday, Obama wouldn't say how close he is to selecting his running mate, but said it would happen "soon enough."

“I'm going to want somebody with integrity. I'm going to want somebody with independence, who's willing to tell me where he thinks or she thinks I'm wrong, and I'm — I'm going to want somebody who shares a vision of the country where we need to go, that we've got to fundamentally change not only our policies, but how our politics works, how business is done in Washington,” he said.

UPDATE: Obama left Holder's office building shortly before 7 p.m. ET, almost three hours after he went in. He declined to answer any questions on who he met with.

Filed under: Barack Obama

[Justin Garrow]

Virginia governor not saying if he's Obama's top VP choice

Story Highlights
Democratic VP speculation rises around Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine

Kaine on Tuesday: "I'm not running for it, I'm not asking for it"

Political observers say Kaine would bring several advantages to the ticket

Obama met with his top VP vetter Monday in Washington

Next Article in Politics »


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From Alexander Mooney
CNN

     
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The vice presidential buzz is circling around Gov. Tim Kaine, but the Virginia Democrat refused to address the speculation Tuesday.




Gov. Tim Kaine hails from a state the Obama campaign hopes to snatch from Republicans this cycle.

 "What I said about this is that I have been on board with the campaign since February 2007, but I don't talk about my conversations with the campaign," the first-term governor told Washington radio station WTOP. "You know I save my advice, thoughts, etc., for those conversations, and I don't really share them."

At a news conference after the interview, Kaine said he is not seeking the vice presidential slot.

"I haven't sought it, I'm not running for it, I'm not asking for it. I never asked anything of the campaign. I didn't endorse him to get anything. I endorsed him to help him," he said.

Kaine, who hails from an increasingly purple state the Obama campaign hopes to snatch from Republicans this cycle, has long been considered a top vice presidential prospect. But speculation increased Monday night after both The Washington Post and Politico.com reported Kaine is on top of the Illinois senator's vice presidential short list.  Watch more on the vice presidential guessing game »

According to The Washington Post, Kaine has told his close advisers he has had "very serious" conversations with the Obama campaign about the position and is eagerly jockeying for it.

But speaking to WTOP on Tuesday, Kaine said he did not endorse Obama to "get appointed to anything."

Don't Miss
Election Center 2008
Who's in the running to be VP?
"It's flattering to be mentioned, my mom loves it, she calls me, she sees it," he said. "But that's for the campaign to decide. The campaign has made very good decisions thus far. And I think, however they decide, they are going to make a very good decision about Sen. Obama's running mate." Interactive: Who is in the running to be VP?

Political observers have noted Kaine would bring several advantages to the Democratic ticket. In addition to hailing from a conservative to moderate state, he has never served in Washington and could easily espouse Obama's message of change. He, like Obama, is also a fresh face in political circles and a graduate of Harvard Law School.

But Kaine has been governor for only three years, and it's likely his name on the ticket will do little to assuage voter concerns that Obama lacks the experience to be president. Kaine also does little to shore up the Illinois senator's short résumé on national security credentials.

Speculation that Obama may be moving closer to selecting a running mate kicked into high gear Monday after he was spotted heading into the Washington office building of his top vice presidential vetter, Eric Holder.

Following a roundtable with some of his top economic advisers, Obama headed to the downtown Washington law offices of Covington and Burling, where Holder is a partner. He declined to answer any questions on his way in. CNN Political Market: Who will Obama choose?

Holder, along with Caroline Kennedy, is principally in charge of steering the Illinois senator's search for a No. 2. Longtime Washington insider Jim Johnson had also been leading the search but stepped down last month amid questions over favorable loans from Countrywide Financial.

Kennedy was also reportedly in Washington on Monday for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser.

Obama's campaign wouldn't comment on the meeting, though Obama spent nearly two hours there before heading to a fundraiser in Arlington, Virginia.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, as well as senior advisers David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, also traveled with Obama on Monday, though it was unclear if they attended the meeting.

Speaking with NBC on Sunday, Obama wouldn't say how close he is to selecting his running mate, but said it would happen "soon enough."


"I'm going to want somebody with integrity. I'm going to want somebody with independence, who's willing to tell me where he thinks or she thinks I'm wrong, and I'm -- I'm going to want somebody who shares a vision of the country where we need to go, that we've got to fundamentally change not only our policies, but how our politics works, how business is done in Washington," he said.

Some other names that have been floated as potential top vice presidential candidates include Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd.


CNN political producer Ed Hornick contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/29/dem.vp/index.html

[Justin Garrow]

Obama huddles with VP vetters, again
Posted: 05:18 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Alexander Marquardt



 
Obama head to his VP vetter's office again Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Barack Obama spent a second day off the campaign trail Tuesday, using his time in the nation’s capital to talk with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

But it was his “secret” visit to the office of a key campaign advisor that is drawing just as much attention. For the second day in a row, Obama stopped by the office of Eric Holder – a former Justice Department official who is leading the search for his vice presidential running mate. The campaign was mum on the details of Obama’s visit to Holder’s office other than to note that time had been blocked off for “private meetings.”

After his meeting on Monday with Holder, Obama sidestepped the question when asked he was at the meeting. Asked who he met with, Obama jokingly responded, "some guys."

The Obama campaign told reporters that the Tuesday meeting would last more than two hours. Obama and his aides have been diligent about revealing very little about the vice presidential search. Whenever he is asked about it, Obama routinely says, “The next time I talk about my vice presidential selection, it will be to introduce that selection.”


With the Democratic convention one month away, speculation is mounting about when Obama will announce his running mate. Will it be before the Olympic Games, which start the first week of August, or shortly before the beginning of the convention at the end of the month? The same political parlor game is taking place on the Republican side as John McCain, too, wrestles with who will be his vice presidential running mate.

As for Obama, several names keep popping up as being under serious consideration such as Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. In the past 24 hours, Kaine has drawn most of the atttention thanks in part to stories written in The Washington Post and Politico about the Obama campaign vetting the governor. In an interview on Washington radio station WTOP Tuesday morning, Kaine said he is flattered to be mentioned but noted that the decision is up to the campaign.

Filed under: Barack Obama • Eric Holder

[Deanna Witmer]

No, no, no!  The best choice for VP would be Hillary!

Who else automatically brings 18 million voters in to the election?  Plus, there is more of us than them, we'd hold the White House for 16 years, prob'ly!