McCain drafting early list of VP choices

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he is in the "embryonic stages" of selecting a running mate and hopes to unveil his choice before the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in September.

"It's every name imaginable" he said of his list-in-the-making, about 20 in all.

He disclosed none of his potential vice presidents and declined to identify the individuals he has approached to supervise the vetting that will winnow the field.

In expressing his hope to announce his choice before the convention opens Sept. 1, McCain, 71, added, "I'm aware of enhanced importance of this issue because of my age."

McCain's comments seemed to startle his top aides, who have scripted an elaborate weeklong series of events designed to introduce the Republican to a wider audience of voters and emphasize his military service.

Obama gets backing from labor union

PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Barack Obama was endorsed Wednesday by a labor union and two Democratic superdelegates.

He also was endorsed by former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton, who was vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission.

The Illinois senator peeled off an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which has endorsed his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Philadelphia-based local of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees has about 16,000 members.

Its president, Henry Nicholas, announced the endorsement while introducing Obama at a meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

Nicholas, who also is president of the 150,000-member national union and an AFSCME international vice president, said he took the step "because justice told me it was the right position to take."

Meanwhile, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and former Montana Sen. John Melcher endorsed Obama. As superdelegates to the national convention, they are among the Democratic Party leaders who will decide the nomination.

Up to 830,000 union voters are expected to have a strong say April 22 in how more than 4.1 million Democrats, a record registration for Pennsylvania, allocate the state's 158 delegates to the Democratic national convention.

Hamilton's backing could boost Obama's national-security standing and his prospects in Indiana's May 6 primary.

Obama wants Gore for big climate role

WALLINGFORD, Pa. — Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday he would give Al Gore, a Nobel Prize winner, a major role in an Obama administration to address the problem of global warming.

Since leaving the White House, Gore has gone on to become one of the world's leading voices for combating the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. His work earned him a share of the Nobel last year.

Gore is perhaps the single most coveted endorsement up for grabs in the competition between Obama and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Also

Clinton spared: A federal judge has rejected an effort to force Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify in a decade-old lawsuit over White House acquisition of FBI background files.

Seattle Times news services