Rumors Indicate McCain, Obama Beginning Running-Mate Search

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is meeting in the next days with three Republican politicians widely considered potential running mates.

Senator McCain’s guests at his Arizona ranch over the Memorial Day holiday weekend will include Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who was one of McCain’s rivals for the Republican nomination.

Top aides to McCain have denied that the get-together has anything to do with selecting a vice presidential candidate, but political analysts say those three guests would be strong contenders for the post.
There are also reports that Barack Obama, the front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination, has begun searching for a running-mate, though he has not yet secured the nomination.

U.S. media report Senator Obama’s campaign is seeking advice from Jim Johnson, an adviser who performed the same task for past Democratic nominees in 2004 (John Kerry) and 1984 (Walter Mondale).

Obama leads Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the number of delegates needed to secure the nomination, but she has vowed to fight on at least through the final three nominating contests.

Public opinion polls show an increasing number of Democrats want Obama to pick Clinton as his running mate if he is the nominee. Proponents of that plan say it will unite the party, after a long, bitter nomination fight between Obama and Clinton.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

by VOA News

Net News Publisher