The Art of the Vice-Presidential Rollout

Obama and McCain can expect to gain anywhere from three to nine percentage points in public opinion polls following their VP rollout, according to a recent Gallup analysis of poll results going back to 1996.

The 2008 presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are poised to announce their...

The 2008 presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are poised to announce their vice-presidential picks which could give them a boost of media coverage going into the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver and the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

(ABC News/AP)

When former Vice President Al Gore selected then-Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut as his running mate in 2000, the duo cut then-Gov. George W. Bush's post-convention lead in half, according to Gallup.

Press Corps Whipped Into Veep Frenzy

The press corps has whipped itself into a frenzy trying to figure out who the picks will be and how the candidates will reveal their picks to the public. McCain's short list is rumored to include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and Lieberman, now a registered Independent.

Obama's potential Democratic veep list is thought to include Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

A big rule for any presidential candidate is to vet potential running mates thoroughly. Presidential candidates have been burned in the past by their veep choices.

Obama's vice presidential search team -- led by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, and former deputy Attorney General Eric Holder -- has been researching the backgrounds of potential picks for weeks.

Arthur Culvahouse, a Washington D.C. lawyer who was President Ronald Reagan's White House counsel from 1987 to 1989, is heading McCain's search team.

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Campaigns Try to Avoid Wrong VP Choice

Historically, there have been missteps with running mate picks.

"Not all vice presidential rollouts have provided the campaign the positive news it sought," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABCNews.com.

Campaigns are mindful of avoiding a repeat of negative press received by Walter Mondale's 1984 running mate Geraldine Ferarro, whose husband's refusal to release his tax returns overshadowed positive press coverage of her as the first woman selected as a running mate.

George McGovern's 1972 vice presidential pick, Thomas Eagleton, was forced to withdraw from the election after reports emerged that he had been treated for depression with shock therapy.

Any potential vice presidential candidate must help the candidate in a series of vice presidential debates and avoid embarrassing gaffes like the one made by 1988 Republican vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle during a debate. Defending charges that he lacked experience for the White House, Quayle said during the 1988 debate: "I have as much experience as Jack Kennedy did."

Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen, running mate to Michael Dukakis, shot back, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy: I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Former President Richard Nixon settled on Spiro Agnew, who was later forced to resign the vice presidency after being charged with accepting bribes totaling more than $100,000.

But if done right, the art of the vice presidential rollout could give the candidates an opportunity to drive the narrative of their campaign -- if only for a short while.

"The success of the rollout all depends on the person they choose," Gonzales said. "How the vice presidential candidate is received and analyzed by the media probably will be the biggest factor in determining the success of it."