Obama Silent About Unannounced Stop

Presumptive Democratic Nominee Visited Law Firm Of VP Search Team Member, But Would Not Say Why

(AP)  Barack Obama made an unannounced stop Wednesday at a downtown building that houses the law firm of one member of his vice presidential search team but he wouldn't say why afterward.

“I'm not going to tell you,” the smiling likely Democratic nominee told reporters when asked who he met with and what they discussed as he exited the office building through the back door some two hours and 20 minutes after entering. He had two top aides - campaign manager David Plouffe and chief strategist David Axelrod - at his side.

The stop was not on his public schedule, and aides would say only that Obama had private meetings planned while in Washington.

They wouldn't provide additional details, including whether Obama had met with Eric Holder, a partner at Covington and Burling who is helping the candidate vet potential running mates. The firm is located just blocks from the White House that Obama hopes to occupy come January.

In a city that revels in the intrigue surrounding a vice presidential pick, Obama's midmorning stop was certain to fuel speculation of who he would choose for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket - and whether he met with any of them at Holder's office or, perhaps, elsewhere at another time.

Over the past few weeks, several officials thought to be on Obama's list have indicated they lack interest in the job. The latest was Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who issued a statement this week that said he had told Obama that he intended to remain in the Senate and “under no circumstances will I be a candidate for vice president.”

Both Obama and GOP rival John McCain are trying to keep a tight lid on their searches, including only a small handful of top aides in the discussions to make sure the vetting process is as discrete as possible.

Nonetheless, each candidate is believed to be deep into process of picking a vice presidential candidate. They may even be to the point of asking potentials for records, such as tax returns, financial holdings, medical documents and military files, or secretly interviewing candidates face-to-face.

So-called “short lists” of prospects probably exist, given how long both campaigns have been weighing their options. Obama's search committee, made up of Holder and Caroline Kennedy, has been working since early June, while McCain's helper, attorney Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., has been involved in the Republican's efforts for a couple months.

Time is a consideration for both candidates as they narrow their choices, announce their selections - and hope their choices produce an uptick in polls.

Typically, careful planning goes into the elaborate staged “roll out” of a vice presidential pick to get maximum media coverage of what is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated decision a presidential hopeful makes between clinching the party's nomination and formally accepting it at the party's national convention.

Obama is making an overseas trip later this month to Europe and the Middle East, which could make a July announcement difficult. It's also summertime and voters tend to pay little attention to politics, and McCain aides are mindful of that.

The window tightens more on Aug. 8 when the Beijing Olympics open for a several-week stretch. Democrats hold their national convention in Denver on Aug. 25-28, and Republicans follow in Minneapolis-St. Paul Sept. 1-4.

Wednesday's hint that Obama likely is fully engaged in the process began around 9:30 a.m., when his entourage, including a small contingent of reporters, left the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, presumably to head to his Senate office on Capitol Hill so the Illinois senator could vote on a couple of bills later in the day.

---

VP Hot Sheet: Obama
CBSNews.com tracks the veepstakes buzz and ranks the top contenders.

---

A few minutes later and surprising even some of his staff, the motorcade pulled over and Obama entered the building from a back door with a sign that said “Tenant Entrance Only.”

Obama's public schedule listed only an evening fundraising event with former rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in New York, and his staffers had said only that the candidate would spend the majority of the day in his Senate office and on Capitol Hill for a series of votes, including on a bill overhauling rules on secret government eavesdropping. They also said he would spend the remainder of the time in “private meetings.”

[dante805]

Obama the great liar: Everyday the list grows...Small Town Americans are %u201Cbitter%u201D and %u201Ccling%u201D to Guns or Religion. They are anti-immigrant, anti-free trade. Given at San Francisco fund raiser

%u201CTypical White People%u201D quote

More Blacks are in Prison today than in college

Abortions are better than being %u201CPunished" with a baby

Mis-statements on the number of casualties in IRAQ

His flat declaration that lobbyists %u201Cwon''t work in my White House%u201D changed after it turned out his own written plan says they could, with some restrictions.

Flip Flop on FISA
Flip Flop on Gun Control
Flip Flop on Late Term Abortion and it goes on and on. What a fraud....

[ariel133]

So what is the case for McCain?

No candidate for President since Wendell Wilkie in 1940 has had as little relevant experience before running for President as Barack Obama. The Illinois Senator served for 8 years, in a generally undistinguished fashion, in the Illinois legislature. He was best known for voting present more often than any other State Senator. When the Democrats took over the Legislature the last two years he served, Obama worked out a deal with the Democratic leader, Emil Jones, to get his name on some bills so he could buff up his resume before running for the open US Senate seat.

In the US Senate, Obama missed many votes in his first term even before he launched his Presidential bid, as he traveled the country speaking to Democratic Party events (and positioning himself with activists for a future Presidential run). Since the campaign began, he has missed virtually all Senate votes and failed to hold meetings of his own subcommittee. So the Obama record is very thin.

His major campaign themes have been lofty messages of change and hope and bipartisan unity. This is a smart course to take, when you have little to show for your years in public office. McCain needs to focus on Obama''s record of scant legislative accomplishment and inexperience. What has Barack Obama done, as opposed to claiming to have done?

[ariel133]

A few minutes later and surprising even some of his staff, the motorcade pulled over and Obama entered the building from a back door with a sign that said %u201CTenant Entrance Only.%u201D


IS HE HAVING AN AFFAIR? LOL.