By GEOFF EARLE in DC and CARL CAMPANILE in NY, AP
Posted: 3:50 am
August 19, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama is close to selecting a running mate, with attention focused on front-runners Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginian Gov. Tim Kaine.
Only Obama, wife Michelle, a handful of his most senior advisers and his two-member search committee know who made the first list, who survived the cuts, whose backgrounds were researched, whose names were floated to divert media attention - and who Obama ultimately will choose.
Even aides preparing the announcement have been kept in the dark - and Obama is giving nothing away on the campaign trail.
He spent yesterday on the stump with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson - a dark-horse candidate for the No. 2 spot.
But Biden's stock reached an all-time high as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman wrapped up a visit to Georgia at the invitation of President Mikheil Saakashvili.
And Sen. Hillary Clinton - whose fiercely loyal supporters made a push to muscle her name on to the ticket - yesterday sent out another fund-raising appeal pegged to the convention to retire her campaign debt.
Then there's the GOP veep watch.
Word from a top Ohio Republican official yesterday that John McCain is planning a huge rally there the day after the Democratic convention ends fueled rampant speculation he could tap former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman.
Hamilton County GOP chief Alex Triantafilou put the announcement of the event on his blog, but it was quickly removed following media reports.
Triantafilou told The Post he was instructed to refer calls about any planned event to McCain's press office.
A big McCain event the day after Obama wraps up his convention could help squelch any Obama bounce in the polls.
Meanwhile, McCain yesterday hammered Obama over his ability to lead.
"Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition . . . What's less apparent is the judgment to be commander in chief," he told the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Orlando, Fla.
