McCain developing list of possible running mates
John McCain said yesterday that he has started putting together a list of possible running mates - about 20 names so far - and hopes to pick one before the Republican national convention in early September.
"If I had a personal preference I'd like to do it before the convention to avoid some of the mistakes that I've seen made in the past as you get into a time crunch and maybe sometimes don't make the announcement right or maybe they have not examined every single candidate," the presumptive Republican nominee said on the Don Imus radio show.
McCain disclosed none of the names and declined even to identify the individuals he has approached to supervise the vetting to winnow the field. "I'm aware of enhanced importance of this issue because of my age," McCain said. He is 71, and if he wins, would be the oldest president elected to a first term in office.
McCain often speaks warmly of his former rivals for the nomination, particularly former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. Other possible choices are Governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Charlie Crist of Florida, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, and Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah.
Another possibility, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, talked up McCain and talked down his vice presidential prospects during an appearance yesterday on MSNBC. Romney said he does not expect to get that call from McCain.
McCain also returned to his stomping grounds at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., his third stop on a biographical tour.
He said the most important lesson he learned was to serve the country, and he promoted a more robust view of citizenship, urging Americans to consider joining the military, running for public office, and becoming public servants.
GLOBE STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former US representative Lee Hamilton of Indiana, vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission and a veteran voice on foreign affairs, praised Obama's ability to unite Americans and to bring new people into the political process.
Obama also snagged another superdelegate yesterday - another former Clintonite, who after months of soul-searching, decided not to support Hillary Clinton.
Dave Freudenthal, in his second term as Wyoming governor, got his start in politics when Bill Clinton named him US attorney for Wyoming in 1994, a job Freudenthal held until 2001.
FOON RHEE
A Quinnipiac University survey suggested that her lead in must-win Pennsylvania has shrunk into the single digits - to 50 percent to 41 percent over Barack Obama - three weeks before the April 22 Democratic primary. She held a 12-percentage-point edge in the same poll mid-March.
Other Quinnipiac polls suggested that Clinton would fare better against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in Pennsylvania as well as Florida and Ohio.
FOON RHEE
