Campaign Diaries

With Barack Obama and his press court embarking on their European and Middle Eastern trip next week, the Democratic vice-presidential announcement cannot happen before the first week of August at the earliest. If Obama delays the announcement, he will be competing for attention with the Olympics. But whatever he does, one thing is clear: time is pressing and the Obama campaign at this point ought to be in the vetting process of anyone it is seriously considering.

Last time we checked, Joe Biden was the one Democrat in the top-tier who was not getting vetted. No new information suggests that he now is or isn’t, but the Delaware Senator is certainly doing what he can to highlight the advantages he would bring to the ticket. The first, of course, is his national security expertise and his comfort with talking about any issue related to Iraq and Iran. The second is his prodigious ability to go on the attack and make it seem effortless (we all remember Biden’s one-liner on Giuliani: “a noun, a verb and 9/11″), a talent which in my view greatly outweighs his tendency to put his foot in his mouth.

This week, Biden rushed to Obama’s rescue by writing an open letter to Sen. De Mint, defending Obama from the charge that he hasn’t held a hearing about Afghanistan in the Foreign Relations subcommittee:

As you are aware, under my chairmanship the Foreign Relations Committee has addressed most Afghanistan issues at the full committee level. I believe that this is the best way of ensuring the most comprehensive examination of the complex issues involved, and of ensuring the highest-level Administration participation. …

Sen. Obama has displayed great leadership on this issue: he called nearly a year ago for the deployment of at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan — it has since become the accepted position of a wide range of U.S. military officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Keep in mind that Biden is also campaigning to be Obama’s Secretary of State, so he will certainly put all his energy in the Democrat’s presidential effort in the months ahead.

More surprising is the intrusion of Texas Rep. Chet Edwards in the veepstakes. Nancy Pelosi and Patrick Kennedy both recommended Edwards over the past few weeks, surprising many who had not thought of this conservative Democrat, whose district includes Bush’s Crawford ranch. Edwards chairs the veterans benefit committee, which Obama could use to his advantage in the fight against McCain. Now, the speculation has unexpectedly increased as Edwards refused to comment on whether he had talked to the Illinois Senator’s camp about the veep job.

“I wish I could say more… Any questions about the vice presidential process should be directed to the Obama campaign,” Edwards said, in an answer that echoed Gov. Sebelius’s comment that “any discussion about this process is being done by the campaign itself.” Sebelius’s implicit response that she was not allowed to answer was taken a sign she was being in the vetting process. Edwards’s comment suggests the same.

Other Democratic veepstakes news include Al Gore, who quite firmly insisted today that he would not take the vice-presidential job, and Evan Bayh and Sam Nunn (perhaps the two most centrist/right-wing Democrats on Obama’s top-list). Both Bayh and Nunn joined Obama on a panel to discuss the security challenges America faces, an event that seemed designed to encourage vice-presidential speculations! Nunn, in particular, is a hot prospect because of the national security gravitas he could bring to the ticket.

On the GOP side, there is less speculation going around, first of all because McCain has more time to announce his pick and thus isn’t as pressed to finish the vetting process. But while the Mitt-Romney-is-the-favorite CW is hardened by the New York Times, we do have two points of discussion regarding top prospects.

First, John Thune (who Politico recently included in the top-three of McCain’s short list) told CQ that he was not being vetted: “”If I’m getting vetted, I don’t know about it,” he said. Second, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has changed his tune when asked whether he was being vetted. One of the two most-often mentioned Republicans, Pawlenty had surprised many last week when he said he had not been asked to submit vetting documents. Well, no longer.

Most recent VP headlines:

• July 11th: A pointer on the Democratic veeptakes
• July 7th double-shocker: Webb’s stunning exit and Crist’s marriage
• July 1st: Romney’s fundraising potential and the emergence of Thune and Portman
• June 28: Ridge hit by lobbying ties, NRO expands veto, Jones returns
• All coverage for Democrats and Republicans