Democratic Veep Sweeps

(Newser) - Jim Webb withdrew his name from Barack Obama's VP shortlist today, squelching rumors he might bring military and foreign policy experience to the ticket, Chicago Tribune reports. The freshman Virginia senator has long denied interest, but says he bowed out officially last week. "I believe I am best equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country" in the Senate, Webb said in a statement. More »

(Newser) - Joe Biden, the Delaware senator who sputtered out of the primaries in Iowa, may be the ideal VP for Barack Obama, writes Walter Shapiro in Slate . The 65-year-old chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee has international policy cred, a son heading to Iraq, a pull with Catholic voters, a "just-plain-Joe political style," and a compelling personal story—his wife and daughter died in a car crash in 1972. More »

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi suggested an unlikely vice-presidential candidate for Barack Obama this week, and got Politico's editors thinking—who are the best longshot candidates for both parties? They called up political analysts and drummed up seven names that are "unconventional" but "reasonably viable." Bill Gates topped the list for his business smarts, something John McCain needs—but Gates apparently leans Democrat these days. More »

(Newser) - Jim Webb, Virginia’s firebrand junior senator, is becoming Barack Obama’s wing man for courting pro-military and national defense voters. A respected war veteran and best-selling novelist, he is also among the more colorful candidates for Barack Obama's VP slot. But the politician who calls himself a "redneck" does have his liabilities, the Wall Street Journal notes. More »

(Newser) - Democratic strategist James Carville thinks Barack Obama should consider someone with a little experience for the vice presidency: like, say, former VP Al Gore. Carville told CNN that choosing the Nobel Peace Prize-winner would drive home the message that America is serious about a new energy policy. A third term would make Gore the longest-serving veep in history, but he's said he'll only run for top spot. More »

(Newser) - Analysts were surprised to see the name of retired general James Jones on Barack Obama's vice-presidential shortlist yesterday, but Noam Scheiber, in the New Republic thinks he knows what the former NATO commander was doing there. Per Bob Woodward’s most recent book, Scheiber notes Jones was so put off by Donald Rumsfeld he refused to interview for the Joint Chiefs chairmanship. More »

(Newser) - Among Barack Obama's potential running mates, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius brings a history of standing up to the Bush White House and credibility for having won over a historically Republican state, Sam Stein writes in the Huffington Post. "Kansans of all political stripes loved" Sebelius' blasting of Bush's war policy when it left the state without military reserves needed to pick up after 2007 tornadoes. More »

(Newser) - Fed up with a focus on local ties and attractiveness in vice presidential selection coverage, Mark Halperin of Time lists the qualifications most under- and -overvalued by the media. Among other things, don't overlook: A candidate ready to be president from Day One. A candidate trusted and liked by the nominee. A candidate trusted and liked by the nominee's wife. More »

(Newser) - Her candidate may have lost the Democratic nomination, but Dianne Feinstein is still dreaming of the dream ticket, Politico reports. Although she conceeds that "nobody else can tell" Barack Obama what to do, Feinstein today reiterated on ABC's "This Week" the Clinton campaign's longtime assertion that it won the popular vote.  The California senator hosted Thursday's meeting between the two candidates. More »

(Newser) - Dick Cheney's shadow looms large as Barack Obama and John McCain consider possible VP candidates, Jules Witcover writes in Washington Post . Once hailed as a sober, responsible running mate, Cheney overstepped his bounds and impinged on the president’s authority. The next VP must be more restrained, Witcover writes, but not irrelevant. More »

(Newser) - The champagne was barely uncorked at Barack Obama victory parties before Hillary Clinton's backers were pushing for her as veep choice, the Wall Street Journal reports, but the so-called "dream ticket" is looking unlikely. Dems on both sides point to a host of complications that could arise—especially when Bill Clinton and his undisclosed business dealings are thrown into the equation. More »

(Newser) - Mere hours after Barack Obama secured the Dem nomination, key Clinton insiders stepped up lobbying for a VP slot for her. Former White House staffer Lanny Davis started a petition drive—without campaign coordination, he insists—at Womenforfairpolitics.com, the Los Angeles Times reports. “We must field the strongest possible ticket,” the letter to Obama on the site reads. Clinton “would be, by far the most qualified and strongest candidate to be your running mate.” More »

(Newser) - "What does Hillary want?" Hillary Clinton asked rhetorically last night at her rally in New York. Still a good question, writes Maureen Dowd, since apparently she's not going away anytime soon. Having given her surrogates the green light to push for an Obama-Clinton ticket, the New York Times columnist asks why Hillary is promoting herself for the vice-presidency—"a job she's already had and doesn't want again." More »

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton's non-concession speech last night left the Obama campaign with a major headache, as the New York senator left open the possibility that she might demand the second spot on the Democratic ticket. Clinton managed to take some of the spotlight from Obama even on his biggest night—a reality that will dog the nominee whether she runs for veep or not, reports the New York Times . More »

(Newser) - Perhaps just hours from securing the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama's campaign is moving to grab the best donors, advisers, and operatives from Hillary Clinton's team, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some are merely waiting for primary voting to end to make the jump; others, out of personal loyalty or sheer animosity, are waiting for approval from Clinton herself. More »