Obama plans vice-presidential announcement By Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny
WASHINGTON: Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a vice-presidential running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early-morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, followed by a trip to swing states by the new Democratic ticket, aides said.
Obama's deliberations remain remarkably closely held. Aides said perhaps half a dozen advisers were involved in the final discussions in an effort to enforce a command that Obama issued to staff: that his decision not leak out until supporters are notified.
Going into the final days, Obama was said to be focused mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph Biden Jr. of Delaware.
Some Democrats said they still hoped that he would choose Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York or Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.
By all indications, Obama remains likely to choose someone relatively safe and avoid taking a chance with a game-changing selection. A similar strategic choice now faces Obama's Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, who has been under pressure from some Republicans to make a more daring choice. More Coverage Elections 2008 Multimedia Graphic: Potential running mates » View Video: The Week Ahead » View Related Articles The lingering what-if question: Clinton? In speech to veterans, McCain attacks Obama on war Today in Americas Obama plans vice-presidential announcement FBI adds details to case against anthrax scientist More American women choose not to have children
Obama's advisers said he reached his decision while on vacation in Hawaii. They said it marked the end of what proved to be an unexpectedly intense process, condensed because he did not want to start actively vetting potential running mates before Clinton quit the race in June.
By contrast, McCain, who had wrapped up the Republican nomination months earlier, began his process in late spring.
That gave Obama's team of lawyers less time to review candidates, and several Democrats said it appeared that the list of candidates who were deeply vetted was small.
Campaigns typically check the background of candidates who are not necessarily likely to be selected as a way of gaining favor with various constituencies or to keep the other party off balance.
The team of advance workers and aides involved in planning the rollout - timed to galvanize Democratic voters as Obama heads to Denver next week for the party convention - has not been told whom Obama will be selecting.
If all goes according to plan, the announcement will be made with text and e-mail messages to supporters early in the morning, in time to capture coverage on the morning television news shows and take advantage of a full day's news cycle.
Obama and his new running mate will then begin a cross-country tour. Current plans call for them to be on the trail together for most of the time between the day of the announcement and the day Obama arrives in Denver next Wednesday.
Obama's schedule calls for him to awaken on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida, and by the end of the day be in Raleigh, North Carolina. By Wednesday, he is scheduled to be in Virginia.
The Obama campaign has cautioned against reading anything into his schedule, saying it could be changed in an instant to accommodate the plan to introduce the running mate.
Aides said the announcement would come no later than Friday.
Obama's advisers said they wanted to time the announcement to get maximum publicity going into the convention, after a stretch in which Obama was on vacation in Hawaii and McCain made good use of having the political stage largely to himself.
The speculation during the selection process encompassed many of the best-known names in the party. They include Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004; former Vice President Al Gore, the candidate in 2000; and Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.
The big choice for Obama, advisers said, has been the extent to which he needed to choose someone who would fill perceived holes in his résumé - like a lack of experience, particularly in foreign policy - versus a candidate who would reinforce his promise of change or one who might help him win a contested state in the election in November.
Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, falls into the category of helping Obama on foreign policy, while Kaine is a relative newcomer to national politics and would reinforce the notion of change. Both Kaine in Virginia and Bayh in Indiana would help Obama in a state that Democrats are trying to put in play.
For all the attention to Obama's deliberations, it is by no means assured that his choice will make a big difference in the outcome of the campaign.
"It's not that important," said Matt Bennett, the co-director of Third Way, a moderate Democratic advocacy group that has not taken a position in the race.
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