Quietly, Obama Begins The Quest To Find A Running Mate-The Atlantic

[Ichingcarpenter]

Quietly, Obama Begins The Quest To Find A Running Mate

Very quietly, Sen. Barack Obama has begun the process that will end in his choosing a running mate, Democrats inside and outside the campaign said.

Obama has sworn a small group of his senior staff to secrecy. He is determined to start the vice presidential search on his own schedule and has said publicly, and repeatedly, that he will not talk about ticket-mates until the race for the nomination itself concludes.

But on his behalf, staffers are putting together a team to assist the search committee, and a hand-full of Democrats connected with the campaign will start to pull together dossiers (based only on open source research and press clippings at this point) on a large number of potential picks so that Obama can have something to read when he starts to think about the choice.

By June 4, the day after Democrats finish voting, the campaign hopes to have a full team in place.

"He wants this done right," said one person who is privy to the candidate and campaign's thinking on the matter. "He takes this very seriously."

James A. Johnson, who vetted potential nominees for Sen. John Kerry in 2004, is playing a major role. He has advised Obama and the campaign about the architecture of the process, though it is not clear whether he will reprise his role as head of the search committee. Ex-Sen. Tom Daschle is also providing advice. >>>>snip
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/quietly_obama_begins_the_quest_1.php

[lisa58]

1. Jim Webb - done!

[Bread and Circus]

2. I'm not supposed to say anything because I'm sworn to secrecy but I'm pretty sure

DU is a secure venue to share this so...here goes. A little birdie told me it's going to be Kathleen Sebelius or some other human being. I'm pretty sure on that. Shhh.....

;)

[dkf]

3. I can't get a read on Kathleen Sebelius.

She strikes me as drama free, but also kind of bland. Maybe its me.

[lisa58]

4. I think a human being would be a great choice!

[4themind]

6. Does that exclude monsters?

:evilgrin:

[lisa58]

17. Absolutely...after the last 8 years we've had our fill of monsters

[knixphan]

lol

:hide:

[lisa58]

15. oops - wrong place

[mamalone]

18. Well... that excludes...

ooops... I can't bring myself to actually say it. Nasty is against my religion;)

[Schema Thing]

5. This is a year for real change

don't be so sure about the "human" part of your speculation.


Think what a great VP Lassie would have made. "What is it Lassie, did Timmy Russert fall into the well?"

[nxylas]

8. "And can we leave him there?"

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[lisa58]

13. Actually, my Border Collie is smarter...

...than anyone in the current administration (and cuter too!)

You may be on to something.

[Bread and Circus]

22. Lassie was very loyal, would make a great choice. Has he or she been vetted?

No pun intended ;)

Get it...vet-ted?

Hardy har...har...

*sigh*

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. The point is......... settle down ... by June 4th

He will have a team in place and will make
the decision on sound judgement not political pandering.

[Fire_brand]

9. He should pick a hard working white american

[skipos]

10. David Duke? nt

[JimGinPA]

11. As I Stated In Another Thread...

I Would Just Like To State Publically Now...

I am not seeking, nor would I accept a vice-presidential nomination. While I would be flattered to be contacted by the likely nominee, whom I wholeheartedly support, I prefer at this time to spend more time with my family and snarking on this message board.

[saltpoint]

12. It's going to be an exciting sub-story to the next couple months.

Great post -- because it puts us in the mind of not only the 08 election but the next 16 years and party-building.

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. Once he choses HIS VP we can begin focusing on Senate and House races

Also monies can be channeled into those races and not wasted
on this primary race and can be focused on the fall

I think the 2010 elections will consolidate the changes in the party.

[saltpoint]

16. Agree. The stronger our majorities are in the Senate & House,

the greater the odds for meaningful reform in an Obama administration on veterans' rights, health care, and so forth.

I'm psyched!

[tokenlib]

19. Hillary isn't going to like this...

What crazy comments are going to come out of her mouth today???

[my3boyz]

20. She will say that she is looking at potential VP running mates too. nt

[my3boyz]

21. When do candidates generally announce running mates? I'm trying

to remember how far in advance of the convention did Kerry announce Edwards? I can't remember....