Danforth, Bush Held Secret Meeting for V.P Spot

July 22 -- ABCNEWS has learned that former Missouri Sen. John Danforth has joined former defense secretary Richard Cheney on Texas Governor George W. Bush’s final short list of possible vice presidential running mates, after the two men staged a secret meeting in a Chicago hotel suite.

On Tuesday at the Sheraton in Chicago, Governor Bush met alone for several hours with Danforth, his wife, and Cheney, who is leading Bush’s search for a running mate. Secrecy for the meeting was so tight that most of Bush’s traveling aides were prevented by the Secret Service from even getting close to the meeting room.

One source described the meeting as a “get to know each other” session. After the four of them met, Cheney left the room and allowed Bush and the Danforths to meet privately. Cheney is said to have participated in the meeting in his role as the head of Bush’s selection effort, not as one of the final candidates.

Mrs. Danforth’s presence is notable, given that Danforth took himself out of the running in June, saying that he and his wife were enjoying their private life. But lately, friends of the couple say, Mrs. Danforth has “softened” her opposition to her husband joining the ticket. In addition, this is the first known instance of Bush meeting with the spouse of a potential vice presidential candidate.

Asked last Sunday by ABCNEWS how well he knew Danforth, Bush said that he barely knew the former senator. Indeed, although Danforth is a close friend and long-time associate of former President Bush, Gov. Bush and Danforth had never spent much time together before last Tuesday.

‘A Good Discussion’

Meeting over coffee and soft drinks, Bush and Danforth had what one source who has talked to both men called a “good discussion of their shared experiences.” And Bush is said to have been “impressed” with Danforth.

Danforth had been appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno to lead-up an independent investigation into the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. On Friday, as the special prosecutor announced the release of his report, he suggested that the timing of the announcement was not purely coincidental.