Obama reportedly seeking running mate

WASHINGTON -- A sure sign that the primary season is winding down came Thursday with reports that Barack Obama, the Democrats' leading presidential contender, is starting to look for a running mate.

Obama's search was reported by The Atlantic Monthly and confirmed by the Associated Press through Democratic officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the campaign does not want to discuss the process. The news comes as presumptive Republican nominee John McCain plans to entertain at least three potential partners at his retreat in Sedona, Ariz.

Obama, still fending off a challenge from Hillary Rodham Clinton, refused to confirm that he had enlisted Jim Johnson, a former Fannie Mae chief who led the Democratic search in 2004. "I haven't hired him," Obama told AP. "I am not commenting on vice presidential matters because I have not won this nomination."

Clinton communication director Howard Wolfson called Obama's search "clearly premature." He said the two camps had not had talks about Clinton as a possible vice president.

Second-place finishers often figure in these deliberations. Democrat John Kerry chose former North Carolina senator John Edwards in 2004. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee was second this year to McCain; Clinton appears likely to lose to Obama.

Veterans of the process say nominees first consider whether someone could run the country. They may also consider public reaction and political impact. The politics don't always pan out.

Edwards "was a perfectly rational choice" but did not help Kerry win North Carolina, says former Kerry strategist Bob Shrum. He said if Kerry had picked former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt, "people might have said 'too predictable and old hat,' but we might have won Ohio."

Voters cite Clinton's appeal to Hispanics, women and lower-income white voters. "Nobody is going to get (Obama) the votes that she can," Sherry Tobbe, 53, of Shepherdsville, Ky., said Monday before Clinton won her state.

But the primary season has been tense. Clinton suggested at one point that McCain is better qualified to be president than Obama. Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has appeared dismissive of Obama's bid and positions. The Clintons in an Obama White House "would be a nightmare. Obama would need a full-time food tester," said Scott Reed, who ran Bob Dole's 1996 campaign against Bill Clinton.