[Rhodes22-list] Political Humor

[Brad Haslett]

Ouch!  The AP has never been unbiased in their reporting but this is over
the top! Brad

"Less traditional choices mentioned include former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the
Democratic vice presidential prick in 2000 who now is an independent."


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gxVW-aUPQsPkU0JKEleSPNCyxSsAD92L2HJ80

-here is the original in case they correct it-

Obama veep announcement expected in coming days

By NEDRA PICKLER – 20 hours ago

CHICAGO (AP) — Barack Obama will publicly disclose his vice presidential
choice in the coming days, though the Democrat is keeping most aides who are
preparing for the announcement in the dark and is giving away nothing to
voters as he campaigns.

The Illinois senator has staffers in place to aide the No. 2 and his or her
spouse, including more than a dozen seasoned operatives who have set up shop
in a section of the campaign's Chicago headquarters. They are running
through various logistical scenarios involved in taking over the relatively
normal life of a person unknown to them and thrusting them into the
unrelenting glare of a presidential campaign.

Obama was believed to have narrowed his list to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine,
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Kansas Gov. Kathleen
Sebelius. While it seemed increasingly unlikely that he would choose his
vanquished rival, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, some Democrats
speculated Monday that he could pull a surprise and pick her.

Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle, a close Obama adviser, said Monday he
had given the campaign personal information needed to examine the background
of potential vice presidential nominees but was confident he wouldn't be
selected.

"I did give ... documents a long time ago, but these matters have been
resolved for a long time now as far as I'm concerned," Daschle told The
Associated Press in an interview.

Only Obama, his wife, Michelle, a handful of his senior-most advisers and
his two-member search committee know for certain who was on the initial
list, who made the cuts, whose backgrounds were researched, whose names were
floated to divert the media — and who Obama ultimately will choose.

He planned to campaign Tuesday in Florida and on Wednesday ride a bus
through North Carolina and Virginia, where he was appearing with former Gov.
Mark Warner, also mentioned as a possible contender for the No. 2 spot.
After that, Obama's schedule is wide open, leaving the end of the week as a
more likely time for the pick before the Democratic National Convention
begins next Monday in Denver.

Campaign manager David Plouffe e-mailed supporters last week telling them
they would receive first word of Obama's decision through a mass text
message, but otherwise the team has revealed little about what to expect.
Historically, presidential tickets then tour battleground states to maximize
media exposure, and Obama is expected to do the same.

For his part, Republican rival John McCain is seriously considering naming
his running mate between the end of the Democratic convention Aug. 28 and
the Sept. 1 start of the GOP convention in hopes of stunting any uptick in
polls for Obama. McCain has at least three large rallies planned in top
battlegrounds Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, before the Republican
gathering in St. Paul, Minn.

His top contenders are said to include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and
former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Less traditional choices mentioned
include former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter,
and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential prick
in 2000 who now is an independent.

Since Obama clinched the nomination in early June, speculation has swirled
about the prospective No. 2s.

Names mentioned included Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a national security
expert who traveled with Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan; former Georgia Sen.
Sam Nunn, another foreign policy authority; and New Mexico Gov. Bill
Richardson, a prominent Hispanic with vast international experience.

While Obama's search committee reviewed its list of potential candidates
during the past several weeks, the campaign was busy building the vice
presidential staff operation that includes chief of staff Patti Solis Doyle,
who was Clinton's campaign manager, and spokesman David Wade, who was 2004
Democratic nominee John Kerry's traveling press secretary. Rick Siger,
advance director for Kaine's campaign, came on to oversee the travels of the
eventual pick, increasing buzz that his former boss could be the likely
choice.

The drama of Obama's impending announcement drew dozens of new reporters to
travel with his campaign Monday. They listened in vain for clues as Obama
held a subdued meeting with several dozen women in New Mexico on the topic
of wage discrimination, sticking to his word that he wouldn't say anything
about the decision until his announcement.

Obama was more animated Monday afternoon at a raucous town hall meeting,
where he was introduced by Richardson. He praised Richardson as one of the
nation's best governors, but otherwise gave no hint of the governor's future
status.

Even as they were kept out of the loop on the decision, Obama's staff
debated who would make the right choice. Many said if the candidate asked
them, they would suggest Biden because of his foreign policy experience and
strong debate skills; Sebelius because she's a respected Washington outsider
who has won a Republican state; or Bayh because he can appeal to Democrats
uneasy about Obama and could help him win Indiana.

Each candidate could pose problems, too. An Obama-Sebelius ticket would be
especially light on international experience. Bayh supported the Iraq war;
Obama did not and has said that is a leading indicator of judgment.

Republicans are already envisioning their response to a Biden pick — Obama
is so inexperienced that he had to pick someone with a 26-year record in
Senate. Biden has spent a longer time on Capitol Hill than McCain, they
point out, which doesn't exactly represent the kind of change Obama says is
needed in Washington.

Biden was far from the speculation Monday; he traveled over the weekend to
Georgia to meet with President Mikhail Saakashvili to discuss the country's
military clash with Russia.

Other potential vice presidential prospects also seemed to be going about
business as usual. Sebelius was traveling to Michigan on Tuesday to help
boost Obama's support among women there, while Kaine helped unveil a bust of
explorer Meriwether Lewis in Virginia's old House chamber on Monday.

*Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy in Albuquerque, N.M., Liz Sidoti and
Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington, and Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va.,
contributed to this report.*