Edwards Doesn't Want VP Slot

James Jones, retired NATO honcho, surfaces in Hill talks

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s VP selection team had a busy couple of days on Capitol Hill, talking up possible running mates with legislators. A new name in the mix is that of retired Gen. James Jones, MSNBC reports. Joe Biden and Ohio governor Ted Strickland also came under scrutiny; Bill Richardson, Janet Napolitano, Mike Bloomberg, and Chuck Hagel did not.. More»

Partnering with Obama 'not something I'm interested in,' '04 nominee says

(NEWSER) - Days after endorsing Barack Obama, John Edwards is beating back buzz he’s on the vice-presidential shortlist. “No, no, won’t happen,” he told NBC today. “It’s just not something I’m interested in.” The '04 nominee wouldn’t cop to an interest in being attorney general either, the Boston Globe reports, and is thinking about jobs under Obama “only in an abstract way." More»

Busy veep takes lead on everything; what's Obama doing?

(NEWSER) - President Obama has tapped Joe Biden to try to sort out the budget mess on Capitol Hill, hoping he can work the same magic he worked in passing December’s tax cut deal, and the 2009 stimulus, the Washington Post reports. Which makes Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times wonder: “What isn’t Joe Biden in charge of these days?” Obama also recently had Biden head up discussions with Wisconsin’s embattled unions, handle Iraq’s political crisis, and more. More»

Remember, that was his deal in '08 campaign

(NEWSER) - If there’s one person to thank for the health-reform measure that passed the House yesterday, it’s John Edwards … really. It was Edwards, Chris Good points out, who was on stump talking about health care in 2007, even when it wasn’t a huge issue for voters, and well before Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama—and Edwards had an actual plan well before either of his Democratic primary competitors. More»

Don't be so quick to judge Palin

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin's critics say she was unqualified to be vice president, but don't be too quick to label her the worst pick ever, writes Matthew Cooper. In the Atlantic , he runs down others since WWII who need to be part of the conversation:

• Spiro Agnew: Nixon's VP had to resign on bribery charges and had scant experience before being picked. "In terms of corruption and temperament, has there been anyone worse in memory?"
• Richard Nixon: His paranoid personality would have made him a disaster as president in the '50s had Eisenhower died in office. Nixon dealing with Stalin, Khrushchev, and Castro? Yikes.