Choices are being weighed with care

By Tom Raum - Associated Press

WASHINGTON — When Barack Obama shows up Saturday in Springfield, Ill., on his way to the Democratic Convention, he'll have his new running mate grinning beside him. But that man or woman is still unknown, even as speculation rises to a fever pitch.

It's the same with John McCain, just days away from his Republican convention.

A big reason the jobs are still open: The contenders thought to be still in the running could pose significant risks as well as benefits for the presidential candidates.

For Obama, for instance, picking a senator such as Delaware's Joseph Biden or Indiana's Evan Bayh would bring experience to the ticket but would also make it harder to stress his theme of change.

For McCain, former rival Mitt Romney would bring economic experience and ties to battleground Michigan. But Romney has his detractors, even among Republicans, and McCain's primary-season attacks on him would provide ammunition for Democrats.

For all the talk, running mates seldom are a factor in November outcomes. But the selection is the most important decision a candidate makes before gaining his party's nomination, and could reveal much about his judgment.

”It's an opportunity for them to show that they know how to do it,“ said Paul Light, a professor of government at New York University. ”In this regard, a bad choice hurts much more than a good choice helps.“

Obama is thought to have narrowed his list to Biden, Bayh, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

McCain, with an additional week or so to decide, is thought to have a short list that includes Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Other possible contenders: former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential pick in 2000 who now is an independent.

Here is a look at the prospective running mates.

Democrats

Joe Biden. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he would bring a wealth of foreign policy experience, something the first-term Illinois senator clearly lacks.

He's been in the Senate since 1972, a full 10 years before McCain was first elected to Congress.

But the fact that Obama would turn to Biden in an effort to offset his own foreign-policy inexperience could be seen as a lack of confidence in himself.

Also, Biden, 65, has a spotty political history. He has a reputation for verbosity. And he is still dogged by his decision to drop out of the 1988 presidential campaign after he was caught lifting lines from a speech by a British Labor Party leader.

Evan Bayh. The popular two-term former governor of Indiana and son of former Sen. Birch Bayh, could help put red-state Indiana and its 11 electoral votes in play.

Bayh. 52, has a centrist record and executive experience as governor. He also supported Clinton in the primaries, and that could help Obama with her supporters.

On the down side, having two senators from neighboring Midwestern states wouldn't amount to much geographic diversity. Also, Bayh's early support for the Iraq war could be a liability.

Kathleen Sebelius. As governor of a traditionally Republican state, Sebelius would bring executive experience to the ticket and could help reach out to both moderate Republicans and to those intent on seeing a woman on the ticket.

Sebelius, 60, is the least well-known contender among those Obama is thought to be considering. Her presence on the ticket still might not be enough to win over her solidly red state and its six electoral votes.

Die-hard Clinton supporters also might react negatively to Obama's decision to put a woman on the ticket other than Clinton.

Tim Kaine. The charismatic Democrat is governor of a traditionally Republican state with 13 electoral votes. That could help reinforce Obama's outside-Washington theme and help to put a GOP state in play. Kaine, a Catholic, might also appeal to voters of that faith.

But Kaine is a lot like Obama in terms of age and relative lack of experience.

Republicans

Mitt Romney. The 61-year-old, who was McCain's closest competitor in the GOP primaries, would bring to the ticket economic and executive experience that McCain himself doesn't have. The former Massachusetts governor was chief executive officer of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. He earned millions as a business consultant and venture capitalist. As head of Bain Capital, he helped launch the Staples office supply chain and buy Domino's Pizza.

Romney is popular in Utah and Colorado, states with large numbers of residents who, like Romney, are Mormons. He also grew up in Michigan, where his father, George Romney, was governor and a GOP presidential contender.

Still, questions remain about Romney's shifting stance on issues such as abortion and gay rights as he abandoned once-moderate politics to court social conservatives.

And neither man appeared especially fond of the other during the campaign.

Tim Pawlenty. The governor of Minnesota could bring McCain the support of conservative Republicans and help in a state that has supported Democratic presidential candidates since 1976. Minnesota has 10 electoral votes.

At 47, he is Obama's age. Growing up in St. Paul, site of the GOP convention, he has a blue-collar background and a reputation as a budget cutter and tax-cut advocate.

Although generally seen as a safe choice, Pawlenty is little known outside his home state. He also comes across to some as bland.

Tom Ridge. The former Pennsylvania governor, like McCain, is a Vietnam War veteran. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush named him director of the Office of Homeland Security, and later secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security.

Ridge's biggest liability, from a GOP viewpoint, could be his support for abortion rights. McCain's recent comments that he might consider someone with such views generated a torrent of criticism from social conservatives.

Joe Lieberman. He is one of McCain's most outspoken campaign-trail partners and choosing Lieberman would signal a reach across the political aisle. Lieberman, 66, was Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and currently represents Connecticut in the Senate as an independent.

Although the choice might be applauded by some as a bold bipartisan move, it could also trigger a backlash among conservatives.