Aide: McCain Has Made VP Selection

Pick Unknown For Now, But GOP Candidate Is Expected To Make Announcement Friday In Ohio

(CBS/AP)  Republican presidential candidate John McCain decided on a running mate early Thursday. The Arizona senator will appear with his No. 2 at an Ohio rally on Friday, aides said, though they provided no details on who McCain had picked.(Take A Look At Some Of The Top Contenders In CBSNews.com's VP Hot Sheet)

One top prospect, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, abruptly canceled numerous public appearances. Without explanation, Pawlenty called off an Associated Press interview at the last minute, as well as other media interviews in Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention.

However, early Friday, Pawlenty said of the Ohio rally during his weekly call-in radio show: "I'm not going to be there. I plan to be at the (Minnesota) state fair. You can draw your conclusion from that."

Others believed to be in contention for the No. 2 slot on the GOP ticket included former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was meeting with donors throughout California, and Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who was vacationing on New York's Long Island.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, too, was still a possibility, as was the idea that McCain would choose a dark horse from any number of names that have circulated.

In a newly released CBS News/New York Times poll of delegates to the Republican National Convention, 38 percent they would prefer McCain select Romney as his running mate.

The second place finisher in the poll, former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was selected by 7 percent of delegates. Pawlenty and Ridge were each selected by 4 percent of delegates surveyed. (Read more about the poll)

McCain, however, was uncharacteristically silent.

As McCain and his wife, Cindy, boarded a plane in Phoenix bound for Dayton, Ohio, reporters shouted a barrage of questions at the senator about whether he'd made up his mind. McCain wasn't biting. He flashed a double thumbs-up and boarded the plane.

Earlier, he played coy.

In an interview aired Thursday morning, McCain said he still hadn't made up his mind. Far from quieting speculation, this only fueled it as he sought to siphon attention from Democrat Barack Obama's acceptance of the presidential nomination in Denver.

He told KDKA NewsRadio in Pittsburgh in an interview taped Wednesday: "I haven't decided yet so I can't tell you."

McCain, who spoke with the radio station from his home in Arizona, told people late Wednesday that he wasn't going to make a final decision until after he talked with his wife. She has been in the country of Georgia this week and returned sometime at nightfall.

With both the eventual pick and the effort to keep buzz alive beforehand, McCain's campaign hopes curb any uptick in polling that Obama might get from his convention and to create momentum heading into the gathering of GOP delegates for McCain next week in St. Paul, Minn.

Pawlenty, in Denver to criticize Democrats on McCain's behalf, canceled without explanation an afternoon roundtable interview with the AP as well as other media interviews. Questioned about the vice presidential selection earlier, Pawlenty would only say that he is to be in Minnesota on Friday for the state fair. He had cautioned during a series of morning TV interviews that while speculation might be fun, "most of it turns out to be inaccurate."

Romney, who had played the GOP attack-dog role earlier in the week at the Democratic convention, left his beachfront San Diego home Thursday morning with an overnight bag. His son, Matt, said Romney was headed to an unspecified location in the state. Asked about being vice president, the elder Romney said: "I don't have anything for you right now."

Ridge was at his suburban Washington, D.C., home. Asked by an AP photographer as he took out the trash if he had any travel plans for the day, Ridge smiled and said he didn't.

One Lieberman aide said there has been no indication he is the choice. For instance, no staff have been called to join him at his vacation site.

For months, McCain's vice presidential search process has been kept closely held by a small group of his advisers. But details have been trickling out this week.

This includes word from two Republicans that McCain met with his senior advisers in Arizona on Wednesday to discuss the pick, conflicting information about whether or not he had settled on a choice, and the campaign's announcement it would air a one-evening-only TV ad in battleground states around when Obama will be giving his prime-time acceptance speech.

Turns out the ad has nothing to do with the vice presidential choice, bearing only a simple message for Barack Obama: "Job well done."

Inside GOP circles early Thursday, speculation swirled around Lieberman. It was fueled by reports that McCain's advisers had asked for additional detailed information from Lieberman, by McCain's close friendship with the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, and by word that Republican operatives had been told to prepare for the possibility of an "unconventional" choice.

[n0morerepubl]

MCCAIN WILL LOSE THE ELECTION AND HIS SENATE SEAT

[haoli25]

Congratulations Dan Quayle, I know you will do better this time.

[sistatee-2009]

McCain said, "Biden got underwear older than ME!"

[n0morerepubl]

AND MCCAIN PICKS MARK FOLEY FOR VP

[sociald63]

quit whining, peeps

[mandalay-bay]

"Aide: McCain Has Made VP Selection"

Who cares....

[mandalay-bay]

THAT''S NOT CHANGE!!!!!!!

THAT''S MORE OF THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!

[andsab]

McCain has made his pick? where are the huge banners all over CBS news like when Obama picked??
Posted by didnt_inhale at 06:26 PM : Aug 28, 2008

It''s the liberal media for you, what did you expect? :)

[jackdems]

Concert in Denver 85k in attendance.

Concert in Berlin 200k in attendance.

Concert in Oregon 70k in attendance.

Obama denys the Surge worked and decided to work out instead of visiting wounded troops.

What does tell you?

Obama will make a great Concert Organizer but would fail as a Commander in Chief.

[luvienne]

AND. Quit grandstanding about nothing Mccain. Until you can say who, go away. Far away.

[jmurrieta1]

McClone has picked his nose--uh, VP?

If the Repug primaries hadn''t been rigged winner take all contests, Mike Huckabee would have been close.

But McClone chooses to pass Mike over.

Because Mike has McClone''s number and knows what a phony he is.

Mitt Romney for VP!!!

He actually would have been a better pick for President.

McCain has not yet received the support of conservative Republicans. If McCain goes for a compromise VP, the Republicans can forget the presidency because McCain would have lost his base.

[dasfarg]

Lyndon LaRouche predicts McCain will install billionaire NYC Mayor Bloomberg to be his VP tomorrow as per oligarghy made up of international bankers and financiers. He will fulfill their agenda of privatizing U.S. government''s programs, infrastructure and jobs for big profit$$$ as the depressing economy threatens their wealth.

The country is going into a major economic depression with over 5000 banks are already bankrupt today with more day by day.

President FDR''s economic Bretton Woods policy is needed to fix current economic collapse. This policy caters to the 80% of the forgotten people and threatens the oligarghy''s wealth and whose ultimate goal is to rid of all governments, peoples'' sovereingties and Constitutions and ultimately install fascism.

[hungry1968]

Aide: McCain Has Made VP Selection






Please let it be Romney, please, please, please.....

[hypnotoad72]

Bloomberg? That would ensure a McCain victory...

Pawlenty? So far, he''s burned more bridges than he''s built. Wait, he kept cutting funds so the upkeep couldn''t be maintained. The I35W bridge didn''t burn, it merely went to pieces...

At least the Twins and Vikings will get a "better" stadium. Who''ll want to pay the ticket costs to get in? Who can? Maybe they should offshore sports players too.

[hypnotoad72]

Mr. Ridge might work out...

Not keen on Romney anymore...

Meh. Politicians. Sometimes these battles are silly; both sides have their problems and everybody''s human and has a right to be.

[watching_you]

I do hope McGeezer has chosen Tim Pawlenty, governor of my state. It%u2019ll be good that Timmy finds something to do. God knows he%u2019s good at handling calamities ------ having bridges fall down in his home state because of an unwillingness to fund them. He%u2019d probably be good at handling another disaster like the collaborator.

Watch out though, dems. Pawlenty is articulate, photogenic, ideologically rightwing and totally vapid. Just the sort of thing the conservos like.

First question for Pawlenty: Let%u2019s see ----- Tim, is it? ------ tell us about our foreign service level experience.

Follow up questions: Why did the bridge fall down in Minneapolis? Structural fatigue? Lack of adequate checks, maintenance, funding? Can we expect %u201Cbridges%u201D to be one of your top priorities? Can you bridge the gap between McCain and reality?

[watching_you]

Sbbm posted: %u201CWhere on earth do you come up w/ such complete and utter BS%u201D

()()()(

Actually, if you%u2019d Google something other than porn or stop watching Faux News, you%u2019d learn something. Of course, you%u2019d have to take your head out of you%u2019re a$$ first.

Corporate fascism is precisely what that the PNAC (Project for a New American Century ----- right wing ideological think tank) ----- has in mind for you, peon. It%u2019s provided the blueprint for our current one-party totalitarian regime, the occupation of Iraq and the fear-mongering of the terrorist %u201Cboogieman.%u201D

But, I%u2019ll bet you like having ExxonMobile shoving that nozzle up your, ah, gas hole.

Record profits for business! AmeriCO!

[liberalme]

I think McCain will pick black lieberman--that would put diversity in his camp too.

[screan_name]

I just hope McSame''s running mate knows how to change an adult diaper.


lol!

[germany76]

I just hope Joe Biden, Mr. Hussein''s VP, knows enough about geography to tell the Big Cheese there are not 57 US states!

[liberalme]

blakc Lieberman is 66

[germany76]

Hey, just thought of something: Joe Biden is great at plagiarizing, correct? Perhaps he can do something to Hussein''s resume, you know, "spruce it up" so as to make Hussein appear at least half-qualifed!

[germany76]

Wouldn''t it have been nice if Mr. Hussein at least finished high school before running for the top job? Jeez, a pimple-faced burger-flipper at McDonald''s is practically as qualified as he!

[germany76]

Michelle Obama called America a "mean nation"; well, it will be a stupid nation if it elects her dufus husband!

[germany76]

Hey, you liberals, aren''t you glad as sin to know Mr. Hussein will be reading from a teleprompter tonight? Can you imagine the train-wreck if he had to ad lib?

Wow . . .

[germany76]

You are not qualifed to be president, Mr. Hussein; rather, you ought sign up for the White House janitorial position . . . then work your way up!

[germany76]

Will your friend and acolyte William Ayers be watching you tonight, Mr. Hussein? He''s always supported you in the past (and you he!), after all!

[watching_you]

Sbbm psted: %u201CIt never fails to amaze me how you extreme liberals debate%u201D

()()()()

Tough typing with your knuckles?

Let me take a guess at your core beliefs:
1. Iraq orchestrated 911, with the help of al Qaeda;
2. Bush DID NOT abandon Afghanistan (where terrorists were) to pursue a bogus war with Iraq (where al Qaeda did not exist ---- and a country which even your cornpone dictator admits had NOTHING to do with 911);
3. POW collaborator John McCain (read his book) is a war hero with extensive experience in foreign relations;
4. the Bush regime reflects all of your core conservative principles ----- prudent fiscal policies, smaller government and a Nixonian willingness to talk to other nations (China ring a bell?)

Yeah, you folks have the truth cornered ----- you just can%u2019t catch it.

[hungry1968]

Hey, you liberals, aren''''t you glad as sin to know Mr. Hussein will be reading from a teleprompter tonight? Can you imagine the train-wreck if he had to ad lib?

Wow . . .

Posted by Germany76 at 09:50 PM : Aug 28, 2008





Right.

One of the most oratorically gifted politicians, and also one of the smartest that we''ve had in DECADES, "needs" a teleprompter according to you.


Uh huh.

[watching_you]

Germany76 posted: %u201CDo you think Mr. Hussein%u2019s pastor of 20 years %u2026%u201D

()()()()

WARNING: BIGOT ALERT!!!!!!

Dear Germany: Still stuck on the Hussein name thing, huh?

Let%u2019s examine your logic: If you%u2019re a Catholic, YOU should be held responsible for that denomination%u2019s pedophile priests, right?

And, since your handle is %u201CGermany76%u201D (I assume the %u201C76%u201D refers to IQ?) you should be held responsible for the holocaust, correct?

Look, just go out and buy some nice, new white sheets and cut some eye holes in them. And, please, confine your comments to bathroom walls where they%u2019ll be appreciated.

By the way, do you folks with GEDs actually have reunions?

[pepperwood2]

Pawlenty sounds like a good choice for McCain. Chief Plenty Money from Minnesota has a nice ring to it.

[ihave4rugratshelp]

i think it''s a toss-up to see which one of the last few posters on here is the most bigoted or arrogant--the ones that type with their knuckles or the ones that type with their knuckles but want you to believe that they have climbed higher up the evolutionary ladder and know how to use their opposable thumbs.

[irliberal]

i think it''''s a toss-up to see which one of the last few posters on here is the most bigoted or arrogant--the ones that type with their knuckles or the ones that type with their knuckles but want you to believe that they have climbed higher up the evolutionary ladder and know how to use their opposable thumbs.

Posted by emokev at 10:48 PM

They know they''re in trouble. They know they will lose. It''s sad, really, that we cannot move forward with them and let the hate and bigotry of the past go. We can only hope that they will grow and change and join us here in the future.

OBAMA / BIDEN 2008!!! WOOHOOO!

[hitler-obama]

Do you have the audacity to have hope without truth?
If so vote Obama Hussein!

I will, your loving and affectionate friend....A.Hitler

[sean5002]

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Any new president is inexperince , this is all about issues/platform which mccain doesn''t have any thats why they have to stoop to gimmick and mudsling in ADS.

The bush policies which mccain will follow is like a car on 4 FLAT TIRES , does matter what driver you put behind the wheel they can be a pro/ experience driver ; its still a car on 4 FLAT TIRES NOT GOING ANYWHERE FAR.

[wardoglrs]

What you all don''t understand is that the prez under the constitution could not pick his vice. The vice was the next person in line of the electoral vote or delegates. This kept it balanced in choosing for the people ans the congress rewrote the constitution and its been a disaster ever since.

McCain = War & Obama - socialism either pick is bad news. But of Course Americans could never vote in a decent prez

[cdfoxtrot2]

YAWNNNNNN

[shingles1]

Right now, the rumor is it''s Romney.

[readywilling]

use your brains neocon robots!!!

[foxmulder33]

There are some very good Republican candidates who can help his ticket. Please, not Joe Lieberman though. Anybody but Joe Lieberman! Just say NO to Joe.

[leighg1]

McCain''s nerve only got excited at war. This guy has no interests in economy. McCain''s presidency would guarantee a war in the making.

Obama way to go!

[drinuk]

He has one chance of winning and that is by choosing Ron Paul, I doubt however that Paul would accept as he is a man of integrity, a quality unknown in GOP circles.

[kissamaarse]

His VP choice will be Romney, whom he hates, and an adversary who hates McCain for McCain''s lack of faith and truthfulness. Two rich guys worth over $100 Million each, with no clue in their elitist lives what an everyday American goes through. Like McCain, Romney thinks nothing of wearing $520 Ferragamo loafers. Don''t all Americans? As a Democrat praying for change to a better day for 90% of Americans, I cannot wait for this debate!

[jsilver2th]

I hope that he picks somebody a lot younger and sexier like Ross Perot or Phyllis Diller.

[carlylaine]

SHURCH4TRUTH: UR AN ID10T.

The smartest thing to do would have been to tap Kay Bailey...I''m sure you chose another male. As long as the main whiteblack man chooses another male...there will always be two d1cks in the WhiteHouse.

[johnpotus1]

Obama is the anti-Christ. He is just plain evil.

[johnpotus1]

Obama is guilty of killing babies and should be charged by the International Court of Justice for Genocide.

Americans will reject a man who takes pleasure in murdering babies.

[carlylaine]

kissamaarse: How cute and special you are for pointing out the Republican''s worth...but nothing concerning all of the money Obamas and Biden have or what their wives have. Nah! There''s no rich jerks in the DEM party. GET REAL!

[carlylaine]

kissamaarse: If you''re from Australia or any one of the other nether regions...why are you so interested in putting you political views out there. You listen to one side of the debate. An intelligent person would look at both and see that there is validity-to some degree-in both.