Obama On Clinton VP Slot

(CBS)

BRISTOW, VA. -- Barack Obama said today the most important decision he has to make is choosing a running mate, and that he will rely on his three person search committee for guidance, rather than surrogates or the press. Reporters pressed Obama on whether or not Hillary Clinton is on his short list; however, he refused to answer the question. "She is an extraordinary talent and a major leader in her party as she showed during this campaign. But I am not going to discuss who is being considered, how they're being considered," Obama said. "We're just not going to talk about this anymore."

But he did talk about her husband hitting the trail for him. "I think Bill Clinton is an enormous talent and I would welcome him campaigning for me," Obama said.

Any speculation about what that may mean, though, to the rest of the selection process is simply idle gossip, according to Obama. "You can take it from me that it is wrong because we're not going to be talking about it in the press."

Obama did shed more light on his conversation with John McCain last night, where he said the two had a light-hearted conversation about becoming their party's nominee. "We joked about the fact that if you had asked any of the pundits a year ago whether it was going to be him and me as the two nominees, we wouldn't have gotten many takers," Obama said.

He also said he is open to McCain's call for a town hall style forum in addition to the three presidential debates.