From a McCain campaign aide, here's the Arizona senator's logic: "A maverick with a record of reform has picked a maverick with a record of reform.  John McCain is putting Washington on notice that there is a shake-up coming."

A McCain aide has confirmed it is Palin.

John McCain has picked little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, making Palin the first woman ever named to a national Republican ticket, according to CNN and Politico.

McCain, an Arizona senator who will accept the GOP's presidential nomination in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, made the announcement at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio, later today.

Palin, a former beauty queen who was first elected in 2006, is a mother of five children, including a son who recently joined the Army and a baby boy who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome in April.

Her selection is an indication that McCain intends to try to court women who supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in the Democratic primary.

Palin ran on a pledge to reform Alaska and has turned a cold shoulder to Republicans involved in scandals. However, she is being investigated in a probe into whether she improperly sought to fire her former brother in law.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, just called her a "breath of fresh air" in  an interview on CNN.

FOX and CNN were reporting this morning that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, known for running on a reform-oriented platform and turning a cold shoulder to corrupt members of her own party, is in the running to be John McCain's running mate. However, CNN now says Palin is in Alaska, which would mean she is not in Dayton, Ohio, where McCain is set to unveil his pick in a few hours.

Palin, a former beauty queen, is the mother of five children, including a baby born with Down Syndrome in April.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has told Minnesota Public radio that it is not him. FOX is reporting Romney is out of the running.

The Web site RedState.com is reporting that Tim Pawlenty will be John McCain's running mate.

Multiple reports say that John McCain will notify his running mate of his or her new status today, which raises the prospect of a timed leak to the press designed to deflect attention from Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech here in Denver.

If it's done that way, as a leak before an official announcement tomorrow in Dayton, Ohio,  McCain can expect to divert some attention from Obama, but maybe not as much as he would like.

The Web site www.McCain-Lieberman.com now redirects to www.johnmccain.com, according to an internal CQ tipster.

We know from past reporting that such auto-forwards on the Web don't necessarily mean anything. But we (I) thought it was worth noting.

The Hartford Courant is noting a change in Joe Lieberman's stance on being John McCain's running mate. Lieberman, who has indicated he won't run with McCain in the past, is now silent on the topic. Here's what he said:

"The rest of us, particularly those of use who are privileged to be his friends, ought to take a temporary vow of silence," Lieberman said. "I don't expect the offer will be extended to me, but I'm going to continue my vow of silence about any hypotheticals."

Most of the Republicans I have talked to in the last week seem to think Mitt Romney is the most likely choice as John McCain's running mate.

They cite his popularity with conservatives (some of which surely comes from his position as the anti-McCain in the primaries), his possible appeal in Michigan (where his father was governor) and western state currency that stems from his Mormon faith and his role in managing the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.

Romney's detractors note that he has been on multiple sides of a lot of public policy issues, couldn't beat a foe in McCain who was unpopular with GOP activists and reinforces the new theme that McCain is out of touch because of his family's wealth.

He'll be in Denver tomorrow to throw rhetorical tomatoes at the Democratic convention, which might be an odd role for someone who is about to make the argument that he should be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.

Conservative columnist William Kristol made the pitch for Joe Lieberman in today's New York Times, making the case that he broadens the ticket's appeal beyond the traditional Democratic Republican split, gives disaffected Clinton voters an option, and could keep conservatives on board because McCain-Lieberman is still better for them than Obama-Biden.

Then there are the governors. The thinking goes that having someone who isn't a Washington insider on the ticket would match up well against a Democratic senator-senator lineup of Obama and Biden.

Democratic gains in governors' mansions have narrowed that field. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who talks about "Sam's Club" Republicans and claims blue-collar roots, has gotten puh-lenty of play. Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Sarah Palin of Alaska and Charlie Crist of Florida are getting mention too.

Finally, there's the field of former Bush administration officials, who offer high-level executive experience but make it easier to tie McCain to Bush. Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security chief, and Ohio's Rob Portman, who headed trade efforts and the White House budget office for short stints, top that list. Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice pop up in conversation and print as potential running mates from time to time.

Many Republicans say McCain is likely to go with his instincts, which could mean just about anyone.

If you cared that much, you got an e-mail at some point between 3:30 and 5 a.m. from the Obama campaign telling you that Joe Biden is his running mate.

The text of the text didn't do much to explain why Biden was the pick. Here's what it said:

"I have some important news that I want to make official.

I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.

Joe and I will appear for the first time this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois -- the same place this campaign began more than 18 months ago.

I'm excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can't do this alone. We need your help to keep building this movement for change.

Please let Joe know that you're glad he's part of our team. Share your personal welcome note and we'll make sure he gets it [link to Web site].

Thanks for your support.

Barack

Hunter Biden, one of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden's sons, has left a voicemail on his cell phone directing callers to dial other numbers for "the time being," as speculation about Barack Obama's running mate centers on his father.

One of the two numbers listed is the main number for the Washington lobbying shop where Hunter Biden is a partner and the other goes straight to an unidentified voicemail account (thanks to colleague Catharine Richert for dialing that number).

The outgoing message is hardly confirmation that we will be hearing Obama/Biden for the next two-plus months and perhaps as many as eight years, but all other signs are pointing to a ticket that includes the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

ABC reports a Secret Service detail was assigned to Biden Friday night, which comports with something we heard but could not confirm earlier this week.

AP is reporting that Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine have been told they will not be on the ticket.

A former high-level Biden aide declined to confirm that it will be the Delaware senator.

"Sorry. Cannot do," the aide said in an e-mail.

CQ VP Watch reported early last month that key Obama surrogates were touting Biden as a possible running mate.

As we have noted in other posts, Biden brings a little for everyone in the Democratic Party to Obama's ticket. He is a foreign policy heavyweight who has good relationships in both parties and around the world.

While he has been more centrist than some of his Democratic colleagues on certain domestic issues -- including opposing partial birth abortion -- he gained the trust of many liberals by leading crusades against conservative Supreme Court nominees such as Robert H. Bork and Clarence Thomas.

Some will say the Democratic ticket looks inverted, with the gravitas at the bottom -- but that arrangement served President Bush pretty well in 2000.

Biden's other son, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, is Delaware's attorney general and is due to be deployed to Iraq later this year as a military lawyer with a unit in his state's Army National Guard.

Here's my analysis of Biden's pros and cons from a post earlier this week.

AP's Liz Sidoti, a righteous fantasy football player, reports that Texas congressman Chet Edwards remains in Barack Obama's mix as his vice presidential decision draws nearer.

Edwards did not reply to our (my) e-mailed request for comment on his prospects yesterday.

Here's what Liz writes today:

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama prepared to name his running mate, perhaps as early as Friday, from a small field that included at least one dark-horse finalist.

Democratic officials said little-known Texas Rep. Chet Edwards was one of the few Democrats whose background was checked by Obama's campaign and he was a finalist for the job.

CQ VP Watch's items on Edwards can be seen here, here, here and here.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius doesn't have plans to be in Springfield, Ill., on Saturday when Barack Obama is expected to appear with his as-yet-unnamed vice presidential running mate -- at least not yet -- according to spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran.

"She is flying to Denver for the convention," Corcoran said when asked about Sebelius' plans for Saturday.

Does that mean she won't be in Springfield that day?

"The only info I have right now is her flight to Denver," Corcoran wrote.

Superstar USA Today reporter Kathy Kiely is up with a piece on Barack Obama saying he has picked his running mate but isn't ready to say who it is.

The hints: someone independent and strong on the economy.

AP's Ben Evans, a former CQ reporter, writes today that former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn will be out of the country this weekend when Barack Obama appears with his vice presidential nominee in Springfield, Ill., meaning it won't be Nunn.

Talk about abortion-rights supporter Tom Ridge joining pal John McCain on the Republican ticket has gone over like a lead trial balloon with some social conservatives.

But Ridge got a boost today from abortion foe Phil English, the Republican who succeeded him in an Erie, Pa.-based Congressional District, according to CQ leadership reporter Molly Hooper.

Conservatives are "absurd" to think that Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and Homeland Security chief, is outside the mainstream because of his abortion stance, English said.

English gave two thumbs up to a possible McCain/Ridge presidential ticket.

"I feel strongly about being  pro-life," he said. "But I also believe we're a big tent party and I don't believe in saliva tests."

When Republicans announced the lineup of speakers for their national convention earlier today, nearly every oft-mentioned contender for the vice-presidential slot on John McCain's ticket had a prominent speaking role.

One dark horse VP candidate who does not appear on the list of speakers is Rob Portman, the former Ohio congressman, U.S. trade representative and White House budget director.

Portman plans to be at a McCain event in Dayton, Ohio, the day after the Democratic convention. That's the day Politico's Mike Allen reported -- and GOP officials are not batting this down -- that McCain will make his announcement. Portman's camp says don't read anything into Portman's attendance -- it is routine for Portman to appear at McCain's Ohio events.

"Whenever McCain is in Ohio, Rob wants to do whatever he can to help," longtime Portman aide and now private-sector colleague Rob Lehman told me yesterday.

More on this later, but Portman would bring something to the ticket that is rare among modern Republicans: strong relationships with Congressional Black Caucus leaders and more than lip service on honoring African American history.

Portman has always been viewed as a fringe possibility for McCain and has said he isn't being vetted. But, as I pointed out in a previous post, he has gone through the White House vetting process and two Senate confirmations just during the second Bush term.

The stock of consistent abortion foes such as Portman must be rising after social conservatives have balked at the prospect of an abortion-rights supporter like former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge or Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman finding his way onto the ticket.

Portman's resume is his greatest asset and his most significant liability.

Democrats are doing their best to tie McCain to President Bush, and Portman's jobs in the administration -- as well as his close relationship with the Bush family -- could help solidify that link. On the other hand, he would balance McCain's independent streak, provide geographical balance and bolster the GOP ticket on domestic policy.

He was a critical player on the Ways and Means Committee, which writes laws governing taxes, Social Security, Medicare, pensions and trade, was the nation's chief budget bureaucrat and pushed the nation's trade agenda.

He could not be better prepared for the lone vice presidential debate. Portman has played the roles of Al Gore and John Edwards in prepping Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for debates.

In a race against the first biracial nominee of either major party, McCain's former opposition to the Martin Luther King holiday and some other civil rights matters leave him open to charges of insensitivity to African Americans. He has visited important historical sites in the Civil Rights Movement this year, including Selma, Ala., and the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

But McCain's vulnerability was exposed when he drew a sharp rejoinder from civil rights icon John Lewis this week after citing Lewis as someone whose counsel he would seek

It is almost unimaginable that Portman, who has strong credentials on matters of civil rights and a history of working with African American leaders, would get a similar response. Here's how Lewis described him to me in December 2006 for a story in CQ Weekly:

"All of us had a tremendous amount of respect for him," said Lewis, a senior member of the [Ways and Means] committee. "I don't think he ever looked down on us as Democrats with disdain. He treated us as equals, and I can't say that about all members of the other party."

Portman worked with longtime Cleveland congressman Louis Stokes on legislation aimed at preserving Underground Railroad sites through the National Park Service -- and he worked to  secure funding for the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

Former Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., has been even more effusive than Lewis in praising Portman:

"Portman's a very special man ... He's just a decent human being, and I don't think you get so caught up in the party label with him because you feel he is pretty much coming from his heart."

You can read my entire 2006 CQ Weekly story on Portman's early efforts to reach across the aisle after the jump.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden could not be any hotter.

Howard Fineman cited two other finalists pointing to Biden in an analysis for MSNBC today.

Biden told reporters "I'm not the guy." But that doesn't mean he won't become "the guy" by tomorrow or the next day.

Here's are some quick pros:

1. Biden's experience with international affairs is heralded with his title, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
2. Biden knows how to play the important vice presidential role of attack dog, as he did during the debate over Supreme Court nominees Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork.
   
3. He could help shore up a couple of important constituencies for Obama: white Catholics and Latinos. Obama struggled with both groups in the Democratic primary. Biden's working-class Catholic background could help with that set of voters, and both his faith and his support for more liberal immigration laws might appeal to Latinos.
4. Biden is more moderate than most people think. His high-profile role in judicial nominations gives him a liberal image, but he is a centrist on many issues both foreign and domestic.
   

And a few cons:

1. Biden could say anything at any time -- ranging from the incisive to the insightful to the funny to the offensive to the weird. Reporters love it; presidential campaign aides not so much.
2. The Experience Trap: Biden's long foreign policy resume and facility with international affairs could draw even more attention to the thinner record of Obama, who is a junior member of Biden's committee. If Obama is seen as the least ready of the four presidential and vice presidential nominees between the two parties, it could be harmful to him. Then again, picking a running mate with little or no foreign policy or national security experience might be worse.
3. It is also a pro, but Biden is more moderate than most people think. He has parted with liberal Democratic orthodoxy on any number of issues, including -- but not limited to -- his support for a ban on late-term (or partial birth) abortions, free trade, tax cuts for married couples, and -- way back when -- legislation intended to prevent the busing of students to achieve desegregation of schools.
   

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, an early and ardent supporter of Barack Obama, is getting some late attention as a possible running mate for the Illinois senator.

The AP mentioned her as still in the running, along with Joe Biden, Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine.

If it's her, remember that you read it here first that she was being vetted.

Mike Allen at Politico (no relation) reports that John McCain is expected to announce his vice presidential pick at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, the day after the Democratic convention.

There has long been discussion that McCain might try to steal Obama's post-convention thunder. Mike, who is extremely well-sourced, cites unnamed Republican officials saying Aug. 29 is the date.

The New York Times posted its previously scooped-by-Drudge story online this evening, writing that Barack Obama will announce his decision as early as Wednesday and no later than Friday.

The Times writes that the top three contenders remained Joe Biden, Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine. Other names in the story: Hillary Clinton, Kathleen Sebelius, Al Gore, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, Jack Reed, Bill Richardson and Sam Nunn.

The Obama campaign is not commenting on a Drudge Report that the New York Times has learned Barack Obama has made his vice presidential pick and will soon announce it to the world.

Reporters Jeff Zeleny and Adam Nagourney have been told the decision will be announced as early as Tuesday but a source close to veep vetter Caroline Kennedy says it could be a day later, according to Drudge.

Get your BlackBerrys and cell phones ready for a VP announcement that could be dubbed the Sub Text.

The conservative punditocracy is abuzz (is it ever anything else?) with talk of how a Joe Lieberman pick might affect John McCain's chances of winning the presidency.

In addition to CQ VP Watch's past observations on a Lieberman candidacy -- bipartisanship, piety (or unctuousness, depending on your bent) and hawkishness vs. liberalism on hot-button social issues such as abortion and gay rights -- McCain and Lieberman have a long history of working together on issues outside the Iraq war.

There's their climate change bill, a measure aimed at implementing the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, legislation to establish a commission to curb federal subsidies for corporations, a measure to close the "gun show loophole" that was criticized by both sides, and others.

And there would be no shortage of video clips of Democrats praising Lieberman like the ones of Democrats praising McCain that were spliced together in this recent ad.


There's also no doubt that there would be significant dissatisfaction in the GOP ranks (not to mention revulsion from many Democrats) were McCain to run with the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee.

But here's a sample of what conservatives are saying about the pros of a McCain/Lieberman ticket.

The National Review's Rich Lowry:

"To placate Republicans and maximize the political impact of his selection, Lieberman would have to join the ticket as part of a McCain pledge to serve just one term. Both McCain and Lieberman would promise not to run for president in 2012, removing any possibility of Lieberman becoming a successor or putting his imprint on the Republican Party. Their administration would be above electoral politics, a high-minded exercise in competent governance and bipartisan compromise ...

McCain-Lieberman is a more desperate move than McCain should feel compelled to make right now. But check back after Denver."

CQ political guru Greg Giroux weighs in with the observation that the back-to-back convention schedule all but ensures that the vice presidential candidates of the two major parties will be announced within a shorter time frame than at any point since 1952 (excepting, of course, years in which one party's candidate was the incumbent vice president and therefore not a surprise pick).

Here's Greg's list:

• 2000: 13 days (Republican Dick Cheney on July 25, Democrat Joe Lieberman on August 7)
• 1988: 35 days (Democrat Lloyd Bentsen on July 12, Republican J. Danforth Quayle on August 16)
• 1976: 35 days (Democrat Walter Mondale on July 15, Republican Bob Dole on August 19)
• 1968: 21 days (Republican Spiro Agnew on August 8, Democrat Edmund Muskie on August 29)
• 1964: 41 days (Republican Bill Miller on July 16, Democrat Hubert Humphrey on August 26)
• 1960: 14 days (Democrat Lyndon Johnson on July 14, Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. on July 28)
• 1952: 15 days (Republican Richard Nxon on July 11, Democrat John Sparkman on July 26)
  

 

 

Barack Obama plans to be in New Mexico Monday but the campaign hasn't released any details about events or even which city or cities the presumed Democratic nominee will visit. Let the speculation about New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson begin ... again.

UPDATE: Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign in Denver, told me not to read anything about the vice presidential pick into the names on the speaking schedules for particular nights.

"We reserve the right to change the program all the way up until it starts," she said.

Democratic officials just released a slate of speakers for Aug. 27, which is the third day of the party's convention and the one on which the vice presidential nominee will speak.

Here's the list of speakers on the theme of "Securing America's Future":

• Former President Bill Clinton
• New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson
• Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana
• Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware
• Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada
• Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado
• House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina
• Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraq war veteran who lost a 2006 House race
• Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., a veteran of the Iraq war.

If the vice presidential nominee was not surreptitiously named as simply one of a set of speakers that night, a sizable share of the folks considered to be on Obama's short list have been eliminated.

Speaking slots have still not been announced for:

• Gen. Wesley Clark (I keep including him because, as has been pointed out several times on this blog, the theme of the night is his political action committee's slogan).
  
• Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine
• Most of the rest of the people in the world.
  

As this blog noted in its second-ever posting early July, Sen. Joe Biden's silence on his prospects for the Democratic vice presidential nomination has been nearly deafening -- even as some of Barack Obama's strongest allies have actively circulated his name.

Biden would certainly fit in with the theme of VP night at the Democratic convention -- Securing America's Future -- as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. So would New Mexico Gov. and former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson, who reappeared recently on the talk show circuit but has been relatively muted in recent weeks.

My speculation that Bill Clinton's reported speaking role on Wednesday night could mean he is introducing old friend Wes Clark as the vice presidential nominee could also fit Richardson, who served as Energy secretary in the Clinton administration and watched the Super Bowl with Clinton this year.

That would be one heck of a reconciliation -- perhaps a bit of catharsis -- after Richardson drew the taunt of "Judas" from camp Clinton following an endorsement of Barack Obama that stole some smoke from the first flare-up of the Jeremiah Wright controversy.

Richardson is as likely as anyone to deliver a state to Obama -- New Mexico -- and could appeal to Hispanic voters in other states.

Biden's working-class Catholic background -- he likes to tell the story of wearing nut-and-bolt cufflinks as a kid because he didn't have fancy fasteners -- could appeal to the working-class white Catholic voters Obama struggled with in the Democratic primary. His faith, and his longtime support for more liberal immigration laws, could also appeal to Hispanic voters.

Both Biden and Richardson have resumes that would bolster the Democratic ticket's relatively short foreign policy record. But both, like all potential running mates, carry some liabilities.

Richardson has been accused of being a bit too handsy with women, up to and including his lieutenant governor -- who ultimately pulled back from her originial comments on the matter. Another reporter once told me Richardson's touchiness appears to be purely friendly and non-sexual -- which comports with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish's clarification of her comments -- even if it might not always interpreted that way by those who are touched.

Biden could say anything at any time.



But he appears to be on a mission this year to prove that he can hold his tongue, demonstrated by a one-word answer to the question of whether he could verbal miscues and a refusal to get into deep speculation about his VP hopes.

And, he has drawn high praise from across the Democratic spectrum.

Democratic officials justreleased a list of speakers for Aug. 26, the second day of the Democratic National Convention, including several people who had been considered possible Veep selections for presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Unless one of them is speaking twice -- the VP nominee is scheduled to speak the next day -- here's a fresh list of people who are not going to be running alongside Obama:

• Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
• Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
• Ohio Gov. Ted Stickland
• Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell
• Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick
• Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr.
• Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer
• Frederico Pena, who headed both the Energy and Transportation departments during the Clinton administration.

A few names not on this list -- or perhaps still in the hunt:

• Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine
• Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh
• Delaware Sen. Joe Biden
  
• Texas Rep. Chet Edwards
• Gen. Wes Clark

Here's some absolutely rank and self-referential speculation about Barack Obama's VP choice, heralded with one of those handy-dandy, ready-for-sending text message headlines that have become pervasive since Obama announced he would tell supporters the name of his running mate by electronic device (no, not that kind of electronic device).

The translation of the headline of this post, for the overwhelming majority of you who didn't immediately recognize the alphabet soup, is "Barack Obama Text: Former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe for Vice President?"

As I blogged earlier this week, Obama's campaign and Democratic convention officials announced that the theme for the night of the VP candidate's speech is the same as the slogan for Gen. Wesley K. Clark's political action committee: "Securing America's Future."

"No one should read anything into the theme," Natalie Wyeth, a convention spokeswoman reiterated in an e-mail to VP Watch yesterday.

But there are other possible Clark clues out there.

Former President Bill Clinton, who appointed Clark to oversee U.S. involvement in the Balkans, is scheduled to speak before the vice presidential nominee on the third night of the convention, according to several news reports.

The Obama campaign has not confirmed that -- nor have convention officials. But they are not contesting it either.

Could Clinton be introducing Clark, a fellow Rhodes scholar who also grew up in Arkansas and has known Clinton for more than 40 years?

Clark endorsed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, and he has been so closely identified with the Clintons that it would be hard for them to be anything less than fully supportive of the ticket if he were on it.

Read more about Clark after the jump.

Tipsters did what tipsters do, and they tipped us to a nascent House-based campaign to whip up support for Texas Rep. Chet Edwards as Barack Obama's running mate.

Pennsylvania Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz is leading the charge -- apparently independently of Edwards, whose name was first floated to Obama's veep vetters by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Schwartz is a rising star in Democratic circles -- and a frequent cable television surrogate for Obama -- whose district straddles northeast Philadelphia and some of its critical-in-November suburbs.

We obtained a copy of a letter Schwartz recently sent to the Obama campaign in support of Edwards. Here's some of what the second-termer had to say about the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that deals with military construction and veterans issues:

"Both to win the election and to succeed in implementing Sen. Obama's bold ideas to meet the challenges before us, Congressman Edwards would be a tremendous asset ... He is principled, thoughtful, and he is deeply respected by his colleagues. Few have the credibility he has on veterans' issues. Few are as broadly admired within Congress ...

Certainly, Pennsylvania will be key to victory. Women, older voters, and suburban voters will all be necessary to achieve this win ... Chet Edwards would help Sen. Obama win in swing districts like mine and in states like Pennsylvania...

Chet Edwards  would provide strong support to the new administration by engaging Members of Congress to pass critical legislation: health care for all Americans; comprehensive energy policy; new tax policy; and an end to war in Iraq, bringing our troops home safely and responsibly..."

Her office declined to comment on the letter, but a spokeswoman echoed its sentiments by saying that Schwartz "believes that Chet Edwards is incredibly principled, widely respected within the House, and has a reputation for being a leader on the key issues facing America."

Edwards is a dark horse, for sure. But as Mel Brooks would tell fans of the spoof film Spaceballs, "Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz ..."

Gen. Wes Clark's slogan -- "Securing America's Future" -- is the theme for the night Barack Obama's running mate is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention.

Clark's political action committee is called WESPAC -- Securing America's Future.

It could just be a coincidence. After all, Clark appeared to dash his hopes of running with Obama in late June when he said getting shot down in Vietnam did not qualify John McCain to be president.

But if Obama believes Clark has strong enough military credentials to snipe at McCain effectively, he might still be in the mix.

On Monday, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Obama adviser Anita Dunn announced the themes for the various nights of the convention, including "Securing America's Future" for the third night, when the vice presidential candidate will speak.     

For those steeped in the denial that allows them to hope Hillary Clinton's announced Tuesday night speaking date at the Democratic National Convention meant that the vice presidential candidate's traditional speaking slot had been moved, here's the final evidence that there won't be an Obama/Clinton ticket this year, courtesy of my talented colleague Marie Horrigan.

Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) have announced Clinton will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday night of the convention, while the as-yet unnamed vice presidential candidate is scheduled to accept the nomination on Wednesday night.

In a conference call Monday with reporters, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Obama campaign adviser Anita Dunn said that Clinton will speak Tuesday night, Aug. 26, on the theme of "renewing America's promise."

The following night, the vice presidential candidate is scheduled to speak.

When asked about the possibility she would join Obama's ticket, Sebelius reiterated her intent to help out the Democrat. "I would be enthusiastic about doing anything I can to help him be elected president of the United States," she said.

My colleague Rebecca Adams landed an interview with Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh this week. No Earth was shattered with regard to Bayh's contention for the Democratic vice presidential nod, but she did get Bayh to open up a bit on how he got to know the Democratic standard-bearer.

Listen to Bayh on Barack here.

CQ's VP Watch just got a spiral-bound advance copy of the forthcoming book Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance in the mail. While the manuscript may well provide future fodder for this blog there is one vice presidential campaign trail nugget I can't wait to share.

Here's how author Bill Kelter tells the story of Second Lady Barbara Bush showing her salty side as her husband campaigned for re-election to the vice presidency against Democratic running mate Geraldine Ferraro in 1984:

Mrs. Bush snapped to reporters that Ferraro and her husband had more money than the Bushes and called the vice presidential candidate "a four-million dollar ... I can't say it but it rhymes with rich.'"

Why do I like that story so much?

Tim Pawlenty proved today during an appearance at the National Press Club that he knows what it takes to make it onto the ticket.

"Discretion," he said, when asked by Buffalo News reporter and former Press Club President Jerry Zremski what the most important qualities for a vice presidential candidate are.

Pawlenty amused the luncheon crowd with VP-related humor that bookended a speech explaining why Republicans "want to be the party of Sam's Club, not just the country club."

Evan Bayh is the next Democratic debutant on Barack Obama's dance card.

The Indiana senator will introduce Bayh at an energy-focused town hall-style campaign event on Wednesday in South Bend, Bayh spokesman Eric Kleiman confirmed Monday.

Kleiman declined to say whether the two would appear at other events before Obama's departure the next day, referring questions to Jonathan Swain, a former Bayh aide who is now Obama's Indiana communications director.

"At this point we only have the one confirmed event," Swain said. "Obviously if that changes we'll get more information out."

There's a glut of speculation that Obama will name Bayh as his running mate this week, in advance of the predicted-to-be-news-killing Beijing Olympics.

It could also be another trial balloon. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden was hot for a bit, as was Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. This week, it is Bayh's turn to be the focus of vicestrology.

Count Miami Mayor Manny Diaz in the camp of former Hillary Clinton supporters who still want Barack Obama to choose her as his running mate.
Diaz, the new president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, was asked at a National Press Club luncheon Monday whether Obama should pick Clinton.
He offered a one-word answer: "Yes."
Diaz drew attention in late June when he declined to endorse Obama.

Tim Kaine isn't the only vetted Virginian.

Eric Cantor, the lone Jewish Republican in the House, has sent information to help John McCain as he makes his list and checks it twice, according to a Sunday report from the AP.

Cantor spokeswoman Rachel Bauer Taylor told CQ's VP Watch that she could not comment on the report.

Cantor, 45, is a monster fundraiser for House Republicans and serves as their chief deputy whip, a post he was first appointed to in 2003 when the GOP was in the majority and vote-gathering was a bit more critical for the party.

A protege of Whip Roy Blunt and former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Cantor has gravitated toward DeLay's old base in the conservative Republican Study Committee in recent years while at the same time strengthening his relationship with Minority Leader John Boehner. He would lend McCain greater credibility with social and fiscal conservatives.

He could help McCain attract a greater share of Jewish votes and contributions, particularly in areas with older Jewish populations that may take a harder line on issues related to Israel. Israel also binds Cantor to some evangelical Christian leaders.

There is even a Web site already devoted to the idea of Vice President Cantor.

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Late Edition Sunday that Barack Obama's campaign hasn't asked her for background information for vetting purposes.
"They have not, and I'm always honored to be mentioned," she said.
Several of those who appear to be on Obama's short list have declined to discuss whether they have shared background information with the presumed Democratic nominee, meaning McCaskill remains a tremendous longshot among those who have been mentioned.
The odds notwithstanding, Republican Renaissance Man Rob Portman, appearing alongside McCaskill to debate the merits of Obama and presumed Republican nominee John McCain, jokingly threw his weight behind McCaskill.
"I'm supporting Sen. McCaskill on the Democrat side after her feisty performance today. I think she'd be great for Sen. Obama," he said.

If