Originally published Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Campaign Notebook
McCain to look over possible ticket mates
Sen. John McCain of Arizona is set to meet with at least three potential running mates at his ranch this weekend in Arizona, suggesting...
Sen. John McCain of Arizona is set to meet with at least three potential running mates at his ranch this weekend in Arizona, suggesting he is stepping up his search for a vice-presidential candidate, according to Republicans familiar with McCain's plans.
Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and a onetime rival for the Republican nomination, accepted invitations to visit McCain at his ranch in Sedona, Republicans said.
An aide described this as a social weekend that would include 10 couples and declined to discuss any aspect of the vice-presidential search.
Some McCain associates said Wednesday the weekend would give McCain a chance to get to know some potential running mates in a social context. McCain associates said personal chemistry would be a crucial consideration in his choice.
McCain himself has said his choice of a running mate would draw particular scrutiny from voters given his age; he is 71, or "as old as dirt," as he likes to joke, while quickly adding that he is in good health.
McCain has said he had assembled a list of about 20 potential running mates. He said he had not decided when he would make a decision.
Among the other potential running mates are Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and Rob Portman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget who had been an Ohio congressman.
Clinton says battle may go to convention
TAMPA, Fla. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton raised the possibility Wednesday that she might carry her fight to the convention.
With more superdelegate endorsements after Kentucky and Oregon primaries the night before, Clinton's rival, Sen. Barack Obama, was just 64 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination. As of Wednesday night, he had 1,962 delegates to Clinton's 1,779.
Clinton campaigned in Florida on Wednesday, pressing to narrow her gap with Obama by having delegates counted from its renegade January primary.
Democratic rule-makers are to meet May 31 to decide whether to count delegates from Florida and Michigan; the states were stripped of their delegates as punishment for holding early primaries in violation of party rules.
![]()
Clinton won both states, but Obama had his name removed from Michigan's ballot and neither candidate campaigned in those states.
Clinton said she is willing to take her fight to seat Florida's and Michigan's delegates to the convention in Denver in August if the two states want to go that far.
Asked if she envisioned the race extending beyond June 3, Clinton replied: "It could. I hope it doesn't ... but we'll have to see what happens."
Geoff Garin, Clinton's pollster, told MSNBC that she could campaign beyond the June 3 primaries because "there are enough uncommitted delegates left for either candidate to earn a majority."
Garin added that at some point, one candidate would have enough to win the nomination, "but we have not reached that point yet; we probably won't reach that point on June 3."
Obama hits McCain on lobbyist ties
TAMPA, Fla. — Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday criticized Republican John McCain where it could hurt most: the Arizona senator's reputation as a champion of ethics.
Ten years ago, Obama said, McCain proposed barring registered lobbyists from working for candidates' campaigns.
"John McCain then would be pretty disappointed in John McCain now, because he hired some of the biggest lobbyists in Washington to run his campaign," Obama told a crowd of 15,000 at a Tampa arena.
McCain recently enforced a new no-lobbyist policy on his campaign, forcing out some top aides.
Also
The United Mine Workers of America endorsed Barack Obama for president Wednesday.
Seattle Times news services
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
Gaps for consumers in Democrat health care bills
UPDATE - 06:32 PM
SC gov faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws
Obama: US economy has 'core strengths'
Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
nwautos
Local riders say they've seen a surge in scooter interest in recent years, mostly from people wanting another commuting option. Seattle now ranks as o...
Post a comment
nwjobs
Post a comment
Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Do you suffer from "sitting disease"?
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
367 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
210 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
171 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
149 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
95 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
95 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
83 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
78 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
73 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
67
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit





