Rob Portman hasn't been asked to turn any documents over to John McCain's campaign, according to a Minnesota Public Radio account of Portman's comments on CNN today.

That, according to MPR, means the former Ohio representative, budget director and trade ambassador is not in line for the ticket.

Then again, Portman, who has been confirmed by the Senate twice during President Bush's second term, has probably been pretty well vetted already.

Earlier this month, he told me he didn't expect to be asked.

There's no question John McCain's camp could use a boost of momentum from it's vice presidential pick. Now comes word from ABC that McCain is seriously considering turning to 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman for a little "Joe-Mentum."

Lieberman would powerfully bolster McCain's argument that he can bridge partisan divides, and the "independent Democrat" from Connecticut has long ties to prominent conservative Christian leaders based on shared support for Israel and Lieberman's willingness to talk publicly about faith and morality. Many Republicans respect his hawkish stance on national security issues.

But Lieberman's adherence to Democratic orthodoxy on many other sensitive social issues -- from abortion to gay rights to flag burning -- could ruffle a few feathers on the political right.

Lieberman has long maintained that he is not interested. But he would probably be forgiven a flip-flop on that score.

Anna Burger, head of the Change to Win union coalition and an economic adviser to PDN (presumed Democratic nominee) Barack Obama, offered Republican standard bearer John McCain some unsolicited advice in his search for a running mate: Don't pick FedEx CEO Fred Smith.

Change to Win's press release, blasted to reporters Wednesday afternoon, used "rising speculation" of Smith as a potential VP pick as a hook to slam Smith.

"A vice president Fred Smith would be bad for America, and bad for workers," Burger said.

Smith, a decorated Vietnam veteran who founded FedEx nearly 40 years ago, got a shout-out from Politico blogger Jonathan Martin early last month and more recent attention from U.S. News and World Report. Still, he would be a surprise pick for vice-presidential oddsmakers.

But Burger, whose minions have promoted her for Obama's No. 2, isn't taking any chances.

If you are looking to get scientific about some of the credentials of the candidates mentioned as possible running-mates for Barack Obama or John McCain, check out FiveThirtyEight.com and its "Contenders by the Numbers" post. Since most of those mentioned are sitting governors or senators, there are polls in their states on their job approval ratings which shed some light on their political appeal.

By that measure, FiveThirtyEight singled out three Democrats Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer - as officeholders who have solidly positive numbers in traditionally red states. Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden do fine but much-mentioned-of-late Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd performed more marginally.

Asked on MSNBC this morning about his status in John McCain's veepa-palooza, recently engaged Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said he has the best job now.

Pressed about whether he is getting the third-degree from Team McCain, he repeated his new mantra: "I can't discuss the process."

That's as good as a "yes" for "Morning Joe" host and former Florida Rep. Joe Scarborough, and for us.

"He's been vetted - I'm so excited," Scarborough exclaimed.

Not a great day for burnishing Mitt Romney's credentials to be John McCain's running mate, at least according to the prognosticators who rolled out some of his downsides.

Say John McCain taps former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as his running mate and then, during the campaign, goes hammer-and-tong after Barack Obama over Obama's health care plan. One small problem, notes the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Obama modeled his health plan on the one Romney signed into law in Massachusetts. In both plans, private health insurers offer bids and the best ones are accepted by government and, in addition, the government subsidizes low-income families so they can afford policies. The Journal quotes one expert as saying, "The Obama health plan is a virtual clone of the Massachusetts health law."

The Washington Times says top evangelical leaders have declared that their flocks will desert the Republican ticket if Romney is on it. They say they don't trust Romney on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion and also because he is a Mormon. The Times quoted the Rev. Rob McCoy as saying, "It will alienate the entire evangelical community - 62 million self-professing evangelicals in this country, half of them registered to vote."

Several reports, primarily one from super-sourced Washington Post reporters Michael Shear and Shailagh Murray, have Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine making it through Barack Obama's latest rose ceremony in the vice presidential version of The Bachelor (or The Bachelorette).

Here's what Shear and Murray had to say:

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has told close associates that he has had "very serious" conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic presidential ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine.

Kaine spokeswoman Delacey Skinner did not confirm the story in a brief interview tonight, but no one is knocking it down.

"The governor is always flattered to be mentioned. It makes his mom happy to read his name in the paper," Skinner said.

Clinton campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe gave a new schedule-driven hint Monday that Hillary Clinton will not become the second woman to give a Democratic vice presidential nomination acceptance speech when the party convenes in Denver next month.

"I think she'll probably be speaking on Tuesday night," McAuliffe said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

In my lifetime, Democratic vice presidential nominees always have spoken on Wednesday night or Thursday night.

That doesn't mean that Team Obama won't shake things up -- or that Terry "I'm sure she's on the short list" McAuliffe is dissing Clinton -- but it may be a small piece to the vice presidential puzzle.

In the past, McAuliffe has cited Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as likely VP picks.

Many observers interpreted Obama's hiring of estranged Clinton campaign chief Patti Solis Doyle to manage his unnamed running mate's affairs as the first strong signal that Clinton would remain on the sidelines.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, referred to as T-Paw by those who may or may not not get th irony of comparing the once-mulleted 46-year-old Republican to an international hip-hop star, is still atop many observers' lists of possible running mates for John McCain.

The Boston Globe profiles Pawlenty today, and he is one of several candidates from both sides examined by the Wall Street Journal over the weekend.

Pawlenty would be expected to put Minnesota in play for McCain, though CQ's VP Watch doesn't put much stock in the home-state boost argument, especially for vice presidential nominees. He could provide ties that McCain needs to evangelicals, and, as head of the National Governors Association, he has focused attention on energy and environment issues that may be critical to independents.

But there is an often overlooked angle may be the most important. If McCain plans to knock the depth of Obama's resume -- and all indications are that he does -- Pawlenty's 10 years in the state House (including a stint as majority leader) and six years as Minnesota's governor compare well to Democratic nominee Barack Obama's eight years in the state Senate and four years in the U.S. Senate. McCain's camp would no doubt note that in addition to executive experience on domestic issues, Pawlenty has visited Iraq more often as governor than Obama has as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. And, Pawlenty, 47, is about the same age as Obama, 46.

But Pawlenty, like everyone else you know, doesn't approach Obama's star power. Actually, he is entirely unheard of nationally, and his selection could land with a thud. He has been flexible enough on taxes and spending to raise the ire of at least a few fiscal conservatives.

Everyone has been weighing in with their lists handicapping the pro's and con's of potential running-mates. Here's the offering from our friends at Electoral-Vote.com on potential McCain partners.

 

Veep Candidate	Job	Downside
Charlie Crist	Gov. of Florida	Can he make decisions? (He is now engaged for the fifth time)
Carly Fiorina	ex-HP CEO	Nearly ran HP into the ground, fired by the board, given $40 million severance pay
Bobby Jindal	Gov. of Louisiana	Performs amateur exorcisms; late-night comics would go wild
Mike Huckabee	ex-Gov. of Arkansas	McCain thinks he's crazy
Kay Hutchison	Sen. from. Texas	Might not play well with working-class men
Sarah Palin	Gov. of Alaska	Under investigation for possibly breaking the law trying to fire her brother in law
Tim Pawlenty	Gov. of Minnesota	Unknown nationally and Dems will win Minnesota even with him on the ticket
Rob Portman	ex-OMB Director	Like the economy? Good. Hire Bush's budget director for a repeat performance
Tom Ridge	ex Gov. of Pennsylvania	Pro choice, which will infuriate the Base
Mitt Romney	ex-Gov. of Mass.	Flip-flops are all over You Tube; antiMormon bigotry is widespread in the South
Mark Sanford	Gov. of South Carolina	Unknown outside his state
John Thune	Sen. from South Dakota	Only three years in the Senate and unknown outside his state

Two prominent farm-state senators, a Democrat and a Republican, threw cold water on the possibility that Barack Obama might pick former Bush Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman as his running mate Saturday morning. A third, Democrat Kent Conrad, once wrote a letter to the president asking that he force her resignation.

Politico reported Friday that Obama veep vetters Eric Holder and Caroline Kennedy had broached Veneman, who is now the executive director of UNICEF, in meetings with unnamed lawmakers.

"It's an interesting thought, but I think that's all it is," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who was discussed as a possible successor to Veneman at USDA when she abruptly resigned several months after Conrad's letter.

Iowa Republican Charles E. Grassley was even more frank: "I don't think it would be a good signal to send to the Midwest for Obama."

Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, who accompanied Barack Obama on his tour of Iraq and Afghanistan is the latest to remove himself from the list of Vice Presidential mentionables. He told the Providence Journal that "I am interested in serving in the United States Senate and that interest trumps any consideration of serving as a vice president.'' Asked if that meant he would decline if Obama offered, Reed said, "Yeah, but I frankly I don't expect to be offered the position.'' Yesterday, on the Republican side, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he intended to remain in the state house.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty may be near the top of the McCain list as many have speculated, but his home state paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, didn't do much today to bolster what advantage he might bring. Democrats have carried the state in the last five presidential elections, but the fact that the margin of victory has been 3.5 points or less in 2004 and 2000 has fueled Republican hopes. Would choosing Pawlenty increase the odds of the GOP breaking through. The Star Tribune says "Research shows that a vice-presidential pick provides virtually no advantage in the candidate's home state." The paper goes on to say, "Although most presidential tickets during the past half-century have been regionally balanced, researchers found almost no evidence that the vice-presidential candidate increased the ticket's margin in his own state. A 1989 study found that, on average, vice-presidential candidates improved their ticket's performance in their own state by 0.3 percentage points, compared to previous elections."

We can't provide a link to this because the Wall Street Journal is a paid subscriber-only site, but it reports today that Obama has narowed his focus to Senators Joseph Biden, Evan Bayh, Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton and Jack Reed, and Governors Tim Kaine of Virginia and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. (So, we'll see how true to his word Reed is if asked). McCain's short list is said to be ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Pawlenty, and former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman. The Journal says Republicans "also are touting " South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and campaign adviser Carly Fiorina among others.

Much chatter today about the timing of John McCain's decision on a running mate. The Washington Post says the magic moment is likely after Barack Obama returns from Europe on Sunday and, most importantly, before the Beijing Olympics start Aug. 8 McCain aides are worried about the blanket Obama coverage lately that has eclipsed McCain and competing with the news from China once the Olympics start. CNN says McCain has not settled on a Number Two or the timing of his decision, even though top adviser Charlie Black says enough vetting has been done so far that McCain could make that decision whenever he wants. CNN's source said that McCain is just as likely to make his announcement at the end of the month as at the beginning.

Eagle-eyed colleague Zach Beauchamp offers up a tidbit from the Detroit News reporting that Mitt Romney's spokesman refused to reiterate past Romney claims that he has not had contact with John McCain about the vice presidential spot on McCain's ticket.

Here's the key sentence from Gordon Trowbridge's report:

Asked Wednesday if that statement still was accurate, Eric Fehrnstrom, a longtime spokesman for Romney, said he had no comment on the issue, "and that includes not revisiting prior statements on the subject."

Contact could mean Romney is high on McCain's list or it could mean that he has been told it won't be him. And, of course, Fehrnstrom doesn't even confirm that there has been contact.

McCain told FOX News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he had not made a pick yet.

A little more idle speculation: Romney has been on vacation this week. What would you do in advance of a three-month national campaign?

The owner of the domain name www.obamabayh08.com, tells CQ VP Watch via e-mail that he is not affiliated with the Barack Obama campaign but that he would like to sell the site to the presumptive Democratic nominee should Obama pick Evan Bayh as his running mate.

We -- and by that I mean me -- reported yesterday that the site, which got a bit of attention several weeks ago because it redirected to Obama's campaign Web site, is now sending users to the Democratic National Committee's site.

Simple explanation, writes the owner of the domain, whose email address begins joechan24 and who is listed as a resident of a neighborhood in Boston.

"I'm not very good at making Web sites so I just forwarded the site," he writes. "I guess there could be some confusion from the campaign, but I also hope that anything that helps the campaign and also helps increase the value of the Web site would be beneficial to myself and increase the worth of the Web site name."

Aye, there's the rub: "I don't have an asking price right now," he writes. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Well, do you?

The Web domain www.obamabayh08.com, which once redirected to Barack Obama's campaign Web site, now catapults the viewer to the Democratic National Committee's Web page, adding another small layer of intrigue to the question of whether Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is alone at the top of Obama's veep list.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the domain name is not controlled by the campaign or anyone affiliated with it.

There are any number of reasons to believe Bayh would make a formidable running mate for Obama, including his string of statewide victories in a traditional Republican stronghold, his experience on the Armed Services and Select Intelligence committees, and looking the part.

Many tea-leaf readers foresee former rival Mitt Romney landing a spot on John McCain's ticket.

Here's my analysis of what Romney could bring to McCain's ticket, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. Domestic Policy Portfolio -- McCain has been a dealmaker on high-profile domestic issues in the Senate, but he is known for his ability to strike a bargain not his depth of detail. He is running almost entirely on foreign policy and national security issues and has conceded, in many moments of ill-advised candor, that he is not an expert on the economy. Enter Romney, who boasts of a successful career as a venture capitalist, engineering the turnaround of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and a tenure as governor that produced a form of universal health care for Massachusetts. In a bad economy -- and with spiraling debt -- Romney's experience as a business executive could recommend him to voters as McCain's economic steward.

If there was one common theme in the vice-presidential chatter in the last day, it was the sound of talked-about candidates saying they weren't in the running. Take Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, for instance. Chris Cilliza, who writes the political blog The Fix for the Washington Post, said Monday that John McCain would meet with Jindal later this week during a trip to New Orleans. That fueled some Jindal speculation because Louisiana does not quite fit in the definition of "battleground states' which McCain will be touring.

But KTBS-TV in Shreveport quoted Jindal, who was conducting a town hall meeting in Homer, La., as saying: "I'm not gonna be vice-president. I have no interest in that. I want to be governor of Louisiana."

Then take Carly Fiorina, the former chief exec of Hewlett-Packard and a top economic adviser to McCain. Asked at a Grand Rapids, Mich. luncheon if she'd accept an offer, she answered, "I'm not running for office. I'm not looking for anything out of this, other than to get this man elected president." OK., maybe not a categorical "no."

David Gregory took a crack at the question with Rudy Giuliani on the "Today" show this morning, which drew this answer: " I am not on the short list. I don't want to be on that short list..."

Then there is the truly safe haven of saying you are just not going to talk about it, which Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty did when Fox News' Jane Skinner pressed him on the Number Two spot. "I'm just not going to engage in the speculation any further," he said. "But, again, you're nice to ask about it."

Which brings us around to Robert Novak whose internet posting Monday night caused a stir when he said a senior McCain aide told him that the presumed Republican nominee might announce his choice this week, something that would get McCain back in the spotlight during Barack Obama's heavily-covered trip abroad. The rumor may have had some plausibility simply because so many candidates seemed to be ruling themselves out.

But Novak said on Fox News today (Huffington Post has the video) that he thinks he just got taken. "I since have been told by certain people that this was a dodge, trying to get a little publicity to rain on Obama's campaign," he said. "That's pretty reprehensible if it's true. But we'll find out in a few days."

If Barack Obama is superstitious about numbers, bet on a running mate with five letters in their last name, say Joe Biden, Tim Kaine or Chuck Hagel.

Seven of the last 10 winning presidential tickets have featured candidates whose last names contained 10 letters. Of course, all of those winners were Republicans. John McCain would need to find a running mate with a four-letter last name, and there aren't many available on a GOP list headlined by Condi Rice and Jeb Bush, neither of whom seems likely.

Bush/Cheney '04, Bush/Cheney '00, skip Clinton/Gore '96 and Clinton/Gore '92, Bush/Quayle '88 (a 10-letter ticket that lost four years later), Reagan/Bush '84, Reagan/Bush '80, skip Carter/Mondale, Nixon/Agnew '72, Nixon/Agnew '68.

They are the only winning 10-letter tickets other than Polk/Dallas '44 -- 1844. (Remember the slogan 54-40 or Fight? Not if you are living).

In addition to Biden and Kaine, five-letter Democrats include Bob Casey, John Kerry and Wes Clark.  

Conservative columnist Robert Novak reports today that sources close to John McCain are "suggesting" that his vice presidential pick will be announced this week.

"We have nothing to announce today," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said via e-mail.

One of the mentioned told me this evening that he could not confirm the report. If McCain does announce his pick, he could steal the thunder from Barack Obama's trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and Europe.

It would be the earliest before a convention that a No. 2 would have been revealed, according to legwork done by CQ political guru Greg Giroux. The existing record: John Kerry announced John Edwards 20 days before the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

It would also sharply reduce the number of subjects of speculation for this blog.

Today's the anniversary of one moment in the history of the Vice-Presidency. One year ago, President Bush temporarily transferred his powers to Vice President Dick Cheney under the 25th amendment because he was undergoing anaesthesia for a colonoscopy.

Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large for the National Review Online, says in the Los Angeles Times that while Barack Obama needs a runningmate who only has to do three things for him (appeal to centrists and moderates, bolster his foreign policy weka spot and not turn off the Democratic base), McCain needs a running mate who can do about a dozen things (reassure evangelicals, appeal to swing voters, attract women and the list goes on...) Goldberg provides a chart with 15 potential candidates and to whom they appeal, who they alienate, what their risk factor is and Goldberg's own bottom line assessment.

There may be an even more compelling reason for John McCain to steer clear of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford than Sanford's recent slip as a surrogate.

Then-Rep. Sanford's votes against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 could drive independent women and former Hillary Clinton supporters straight into Barack Obama's camp.

Sanford voted twice against the legislation aimed at protecting women from domestic violence, the first time as one of three dissenters on the bill and the second time as the lone vote against broader legislation intended to curb sex trafficking.

He voted against it because it authorized new spending, the New York Times reported at the time. Whatever the reason, only one side of the domestic violence debate is politically viable -- as the outcome of those House votes proved.

Patrick Ruffini, blogging at The Next Right, wonders why Romney would want to VP () given the track record of former VPs in Presidential elections.

Al Gore tried to put an end to the VP Buzz that's been surrounding him this year yesterday in an interview on CBS News. Gore said that "I have a personal term limit. Only two terms as VP."

MSNBC speculates () that Obama is holding secret meetings in his gym, and provides background on when VPs are typically announced.

Lee Bandy of the South Carolina Insider writes that Gov. Mark Sanford probably killed any chance he had to be John McCain's running mate when he performed poorly in a CNN interview last Sunday. When asked how McCain would be able to draw distinctions during the campaign between himself and President Bush on the economy, Sanford said, "I'm drawing a blank, um, I hate it when I do that, particularly on television,"

Cross South Dakota Sen. John Thune off any speculative list of who is turning over documents to John McCain's team.

"If I'm getting vetted, I don't know about it," Thune told me in a brief interview earlier this week.

Thune, an instant star in Republican circles after he beat longtime Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004, already has said he doesn't expect to be McCain's salutatorian selection.

He said there are plenty of other candidates who might put a particular state in play or "don't have the taint of Washington hanging over them."

Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, endorsed for the Democratic vice presidential nod by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and veep-vetter cousin Patrick J. Kennedy, won't say whether he has had talks with Barack Obama's camp about the job.

"I wish I could say more," he said after referring questions about the vice presidency to the Obama campaign in a manner similar to the demurral offered by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

"Any questions about the vice presidential process should be directed to the Obama campaign," said Edwards, a Harvard Business School graduate who is in his 9th term representing the Waco-based 17th District.

Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, an oft-mentioned possible partner for Barack Obama, slyly offered up former Senate Majority Leader and baseball dope cop George J. Mitchell as a candidate for the job in an  interview with Human Events.

Slyly, I say, because Mitchell, who turns 75 the week before the Democratic National Convention in Denver, would be -- by several years -- the oldest man to ascend to the vice presidency were an Obama-Mitchell ticket to prevail.

Mitchell is not the only septuagenarian would-be to make the mentioning cut. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 75, gets a bit of buzz, and Colin Powell, 71, is a perennial mention for both parties. John McCain, who turns 72 in August, would be the oldest man elected to the presidency for the first time (Ronald Reagan was 73 when he ran for re-election).

Find out who was the oldest person sworn in as vice president by clicking below.

The vice presidency is now worth far more than a warm bucket of spit -- at least that's how leading vice presidential scholar Joel K. Goldstein sees it.

Goldstein, a professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law and one of the few true experts on the second highest office in the land, says those vying for spots on the tickets of presumed nominees Barack Obama and John McCain are the beneficiaries of the modern transformation of an office famously loathed by most of its occupants.

"Here's an office that there's just a long list of disparaging comments form John Adams on about and yet I think that it has become an office where the ongoing responsibility has really become significant," Goldstein said in a Monday interview. "The office has gone from being something of a nothing office to one that is sometimes described as imperial."

CochiseGuy and Chloe have it right. Richard M. Nixon is the only one of the 14 vice presidents to become president who did not ascend to the office directly. Nixon served as Dwight Eisenhower's vice president from 1953 to 1961. It was 1969 when he was sworn in as president.

Tim Pawlenty, John Thune, Joe Lieberman, Rob Portman and Mike Huckabee appear to be humming the same vice presidential tune -- or reading from the same talking points -- these days

"I don't expect to be asked," they have all said recently about their vice presidential ambitions.

The quintet represents a fraction of the names bandied about as possible running mates for John McCain but they are all frequently mentioned and are among the most serious candidates.

Sure, the sentence is only six words long, and others have uttered it in relation to the vice presidency, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on the Republican side and several Democrats. But anytime you hear several politicians use precisely the same words, it's worth wondering whether they are simply staying on a message delivered to them by someone else.

Here (with research help from Zach Beauchamp) is at least one instance of each saying what might be the magic words for a short-lister:

• Pawlenty at a Chamber of Commerce meeting June 18: "I'm honored to have my name mentioned. The fact is, I haven't been asked, and I don't expect to be asked."
• Thune on KELO television in South Dakota July 9: "I don't have, as I said before, any intentions on that job. And I don't expect to be asked."
• The same day Portman said to me: "I appreciate being on some of the lists ... I really don't think I'm going to be asked." A couple of weeks earlier he told FOX News "I don't expect to be asked."
• Huckabee told Radio Iowa July 12: "I don't expect to be asked. I really don't.   It's pretty clearly obvious that what I'm doing -- I'm not sitting around waiting on the phone to ring and right now it would really mess up a lot of things I have going."
• Lieberman in today's New York Times: "I'm not really interested, and I don't expect to be asked."
  

Of the 14 vice presidents who later became president of the United States, 13 moved directly from the vice presidency to the presidency. Name the vice president and later president who had to wait.

I'll post the answer at the end of the day, but feel free to answer in the comments section.
 

Barack Obama, courting former Hillary Clinton donors, told one that Clinton is on his list of potential running mates but that there is one problem he has to think through, namely, Bill Clinton, according to the Los Angeles Times. Obama had got in touch with Jill Iscol because he had heard she was unhappy with the way the party had been treating Clinton. She told him that Clinton would be his best running mate, and he said that the former President was a "complication." Iscol quoted Obama: "He said once you're a president, even if you're a former president, you're always a president."

Chris Cilliza of the Washington Post offered his "top five" short list predictions for VP. On the Republican side, he picked South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Louisian Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and former Massuchusetts governor Mitt Romney. For the Democrats, he listed Clinton, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (see CQ Politics' own report on her), Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

The founder of VoteBoth.com, a Web site devoted to an Obama/Clinton ticket, responded indignantly after wide reporting of former Hillary Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson's comment that the New York senator was not being vetted "as far as I know."

"It's time to ask Hillary if she is being vetted," VoteBoth founder Adam Parkhomenko said in a statement e-mailed to reporters Friday afternoon. "It's not responsible to assume she is not being vetted because a former campaign adviser said he does not know."

So, we (that's me) asked current Clinton Senate spokesman Philippe Reines whether the former first lady is one of the vaunted vetted.

"She has made it very clear that she'll do whatever she can to help elect Barack Obama as president," Reines said. "But she's also made clear that this is his decision and his alone, and she's going to respect the privacy of the process leading up to that decision."
 

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire says there's "buzz" that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska might join Barack Obama on his trip to Iraq. Hagel, who was a fierce critic of Iraq war policy, has been among the "mentioned" as Obama searches for a running mate.

The Pensacola News Journal reports that while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist continues to play coy about any Vice Presidential aspirations, he has been stumping around the country for John McCain and his "stunning announcement" several weeks ago that he supported McCain's call to end the federal moratorium on offshore drilling was a sign to many of his interest. Crist political adviser George LeMieux told the News Journal, "I like the fact that they are talking about him. His style of governing is consistent with McCain's."

Politico says that presumed wannabes for the No. 2 slot have been primping in various ways to make themselves more attractive. It noted moves small and big ranging from Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's switch from his "hockey hair" style to a close-cropped cut, as well as Crist's turnabout on offshore drilling.

The Associated Press reports that Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman and former presidential candidate Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has been asked for information by Barack Obama's vice presidential search team.

"There's been some inquiries, yeah," Dodd said, according to AP's Nedra Pickler. "They ask for a lot of stuff. I'll leave it there." A little more than 40 years ago, the senator's father, Connecticut Sen. Thomas J. Dodd, was mentioned as a possible running mate for Lyndon Johnson.

CQ Beyond the Dome blogger David Nather writes about Dodd, the rest of the Vice Squad, and the FISA vote.

Kathleen Sebelius is no longer denying that she is being vetted by Barack Obama's campaign.

The 60-year-old Kansas governor told me on Thursday that she was never vetted for the vice presidency in 2004 but declined to make the same pronouncement about this year's process.

Asked whether Team Kerry ran the traps on her, she flatly said "No." Asked about this year, she said "Any discussion about this process is being done by the campaign itself."

Just last month, Sebelius told McClatchy Newspapers that she had not yet been vetted.

"There has been no discussion with me or anyone else on my team about serving as vice president," she said at the time.

Her reply Thursday is not exactly a smoking gun, but "no" is such an easy answer when it's true -- and she has given it before. It is at least an opening of the door and probably a hint that she is being vetted.

An Obama spokesman did not reply to a request for comment on whether Sebelius was being reviewed by Veep vetters Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder.

But even if the campaign is quiet, Obama can hardly say enough positive things about the second-term governor, who first delivered a Republican state into Democratic hands in 2002.

"I love Kathleen Sebelius," he recently told a FOX affiliate, praising her competence and integrity before pulling back a bit.

The role of The Oft-Mentioned is an unusual one for elected officials -- particularly governors -- who are accustomed to making the decisions that affect their own lives and those of others. Sebelius noted the difference in our conversation.

"It is like having an experience that someone else is driving and talking about," Sebelius said. "It's not like being involved in a campaign where we're actually doing something and taking actions."

Sebelius, who remembers her father, former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan, preparing for a 1976 presidential bid before he was unseated in 1974, said it is "flattering" to be among the mentioned.

But she is not always sure who is doing the talking.

"It's a little bit of an experience of watching a lot of the pundits talk to each other and just continuing to do my work here in Kansas," she said.

Still, all the chatter has earned her street cred at home.

"My son talked to me about -- I didn't know this existed. I guess there are brackets that were set up like the Final Four -- he was thrilled. He said, 'Mom, I'm so glad you are a No. 1 seed,' and he had to introduce me to this bracketology."

Yes, Sebelius was a No. 1 seed in CQ's VP Madness, which Gen. Wes Clark won. Sebelius bowed out in a quarterfinal matchup against Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the eventual runner-up. It was the same round in which Hillary Clinton was defeated.

Some folks already have designs on a ticket featuring Kansas' favorite grandson and favorite daughter.

For now, Sebelius says she gets her information on the vice presidential search from newspapers.

"I know about as much as everyone else does," she said.

Former budget director/trade representative/congressman and frequent Veep mention Rob Portman says he expects that John McCain's campaign will wait as long as possible to name a running mate.

"My sense is that they are wisely waiting to see what the dynamics of the race are closer to our convention which will include knowing who Sen. Obama picks," Portman told me by phone as he traveled to a McCain event in Portsmouth, Ohio, yesterday. "I think that's smart to wait and have the best information possible."

He also said he can't handicap the field.

"I don't really know what their short list looks like or necessarily what their priorities are," he said.

Portman has been stumping for McCain across Ohio, a task that not only gives him face time with the presumed nominee but also allows him to build statewide contacts should he run for governor or senator in 2010.

He said McCain has a lot of good options and that he probably won't be the one to be number two.

"I appreciate being on some of the lists," Portman said. "I really don't think I'm going to be asked."

Portman backers note his handle on economic matters and his roots in the swing state of Ohio as plusses in the vice presidential calculus. But his ties to the Bush administration and limited reach outside his old Cincinnati district weigh against him.

Portman acknowledged that campaigning for McCain is giving him a chance to build better statewide contacts in preparation for a possible run in 2010, when Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland would be up for re-election and Republican Sen. George Voinovich is expected to retire.

Portman, who has kept his congressional fundraising committee open, acknowledged the secondary benefits of stumping for McCain should he choose to make a bid.

"It could be useful," he said. "I'm going to make a decision at the end of this year."

For now, he said, he is happy to be promoting McCain.

"I think he's the right person for this country in what is a tough time," Portman said.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton flew to New York Wednesday with Veep vetter Caroline Kennedy, stoking speculation about whether the former first lady might become the lady first in line to the presidency.

The senators appeared at a pair of fundraising events Wednesday and this morning, as Obama courts Clinton donors and Clinton tries to erase her campaign's debt. Kennedy's presence on the plane reignited talk about a "dream ticket."

Paradoxically, Clinton is said to be the worst and the best pick for Obama, depending on whom you ask. There is plenty of grist for both sides.

If Obama sees a unified and energized Democratic base as his best chance of winning, he might pick his onetime rival. But if capturing the hearts and minds of independents is his game, Clinton could hurt him.

Obama has positioned himself well to go in either direction since the end of the primary season June 3.

He picked deposed Clinton campaign chief Patti Solis Doyle to be the top aide for the yet-to-be-named vice presidential nominee, a move that was interpreted as a snub of Clinton. If he chooses someone other than Clinton, his campaign can point to the Solis Doyle move as evidence that he made clear early on that he wouldn't put the New York senator on the ticket.

But it could also be used to demonstrate his intent to go with Clinton. Solis Doyle was as close to Clinton as anyone in Hillaryland -- a sobriquet coined by Solis Doyle -- before the campaign and reconciliation is a motif of politics.

One thing is clear: The lack of clarity is a good thing for the future of this blog.