Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Cody Kucharczyk and Nathaniel Franks of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

* What's In a Meeting?

* Green Party Candidate Still Up for Debate

* Bush and McCain Make Nice

* Convention Money

* Bush Bashing?

* Author of Vermont's Civil Union Decision Steps Down

What's In a Meeting?: After months of speculation, there is finally some hard news to report on the vice presidential front. According to various sources, John Kerry met with Richard Gephardt on Wednesday afternoon while visiting Capitol Hill. Before the meeting, Gephardt told the Associated Press, "I'm happy to do it if he wants me to do it...I'm equally happy to not do it, and just help in other ways." As Kerry left the Hill, he refused to comment on the meeting and told gathered reporters only, "I wouldn't confirm anything." Wouldn't deny it either.

In other Veep news, the first meeting has spawned speculation about who else is on Kerry's to-meet list. Gen. Wesley Clark is in town to do a fundraiser on Thursday night and there is speculation that he may be next on the dance card. Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa played a little coy with reporters saying, "You need to ask Senator Kerry about his schedule," but there were no sightings of the two together on Wednesday. Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas, is in Washington, but did not meet with Kerry as of Wednesday. Her office told CBS News that she has not turned over any paperwork and that "the only place she has been vetted is in the press."

Everyone is tight-lipped about meetings with that most-often mentioned of wannabes, Sen. John Edwards, but "a cabal of House Democrats is quietly lobbying" Kerry on Edwards' behalf, the Hill reports.

The 22-member group, which includes Al Wynn, D-Md., John Conyers, D-Mich., and Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, sent Kerry a letter in late April that said, "In urging you to place Sen. John Edwards on the ticket as Vice-President, we are confident he will bring the right combination of talent, energy, and voter appeal to help you win the presidency." Reports the Hill: "The group is trying to fly beneath the radar of their former minority leader, Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), and is making the case that Edwards would help down-ballot lawmakers in tight races and deliver the White House for Democrats."

There's remains some speculation that Kerry might go for an "outside-the-box" type like former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin or former Clinton Defense Secretary (and Republican) Bill Cohen. Wednesday's "outside the box" name, former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, issued a statement saying "I've had no conversation with Senator Kerry about any position in government," reports The New York Times.

Kerry was also seen leaving the Capitol with Sen. John Breaux, D-La. Breaux's presence may not indicate his interest in the VP nod, but rather that he serves as a source of information for Kerry. A source tells CBS News that "Kerry seeks Breaux's advice about all things political -- frequently. He really values his political sense."

But that doesn't mean Breaux does not have a point of view. On Monday, Breaux told the New York Times, "Edwards is from the South and speaks Southern, and I think would be helpful to the candidates in that regard."

Green Party Under the Wire: The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are unlikely to make any real news in July and August, respectively, but the Green Party Convention may be a different ballgame. With less than a week to go until the nominating convention, the party is still not set on whether it will endorse or nominate Ralph Nader or David Cobb, adding a level of suspense long gone from the conventions of the two major parties. "It's not going to be a three-day commercial like the Republican or Democratic conventions, that's for sure," Pete Karas, a Green serving his first term on the Racine Common Council, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Although Nader ran as a Green in 2000, he is running as an independent in 2004 and, should the Greens choose to support him this time around, he will run merely as a friend of the Greens, therefore not accepting the nomination but rather seeking an endorsement, reports the Sentinel.

Cobb, meanwhile, has the most delegates thus far and has emerged as the chief alternative during the Green nominating process over recent months. So, does Cobb have it in the bag? "To be honest, I really can't tell," Scott MacClarty, Green Party spokesman tells CBS News. "I don't have a prognosis and I'd toss a coin if I was going to bet," he continued.

The prize of the Green Party nomination is ballot access in 22 states, including eight battleground states. Party delegates will vote on Saturday, June 26th for the nomination and McClarty expects the voting to last several rounds. "No nominee" will remain an option throughout the voting, leaving the door open for Nader to accept the endorsement if the party delegates decide to take that road.

Bush and McCain Make Nice: It seems that President Bush and Sen. John McCain have made peace. Bush campaign officials told the Washington Post that the senator will join Bush on Air Force One Friday for a trip to Washington State and Nevada. McCain will appear with the president in a military hangar in Fort Lewis, Wash., during the president's speech on transforming the military, and will then introduce Bush at a campaign rally that afternoon in Reno, Neva.

McCain had been wooed by John Kerry for the number-two spot on the Democratic ticket but McCain turned him down and has filed for reelection to the Senate as a Republican from Arizona. A few weeks ago, House Speaker Dennis Hastert questioned McCain's commitment to the GOP.

President Bush and McCain have had a sour relationship ever since the 2000 presidential primary when the two competed for the Republican nomination. The rampant press speculation that McCain would break party ranks and agree to be Kerry's running mate has not helped either. But earlier this spring, Karl Rove, the president's top political strategist, and John Weaver, one of McCain's chief advisers, met at the White House. This was particularly significant event because "Rove and Weaver, who both were GOP strategists in Texas, had a well-publicized falling-out in the late 1980s and have been rivals ever since…[But] The meeting represented the beginning of a rapprochement between the two men and in a symbolic sense between the Bush and McCain camps," reports the Post.

Although the Bush Campaign would not comment on a behind-the-scenes feud, campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said that, "Senator McCain is a respected leader in our party... We are grateful that he will be joining President Bush on Friday to talk about why it's important for President Bush to be reelected for four more years."

Convention Money: They are rolling out the red carpets in Boston and New York as the Democratic and Republican National Conventions prepare to take center stage this summer. However, according to The Boston Globe, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants to make sure city taxpayers are not charged for glitz and glam overruns.

Menino alleges that the national Democratic Party's requests for more expensive staging are the reason "production costs have ballooned." Changes to the original convention budget, established in 2002, include the construction of two side podiums and a live remote video feed. Menino believes that these additions, estimated to cost an additional $5 million, should be financed by Kerry and the DNC.

However, the Kerry campaign and the DNC claim unanticipated costs in labor and electricity have resulted in the increase in costs. This discrepancy has left city officials and DNC members squabbling over who will pay for the overruns. Despite this disagreement, Peggy Wilhide, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Campaign Committee tells the Globe, "everybody's pulling together to raise the money necessary to put on a first class convention."

Democrats are not the only ones preparing for their moment in the limelight. The New York Times reports that the Republican National Convention is expecting to raise record amounts, even exceeding the $36.1 million raised for the Democratic Convention in 2000.

The New York Host Committee, which is in charge of generating funds, refused to release a list of donors until repeated inquires prompted the release of a partial list to The Times. But the committee will not release the names of 20 donors who wish to remain anonymous. Donors on the list have contributed anywhere from $2,500 to $5 million. Contributors include such notables as Pfizer, Citigroup, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and, completing this circle of life, Disney will donate tickets to "The Lion King" for the Host Committee's use.

Buchanan to Write Bush Book: Joining the throng of Bush-bashing books gracing bookstore shelves will be a new entry by none other than Pat Buchanan. The Thomas Dunne imprint of St. Martin's Press will release the "anti-Dubya book" in August, according to the New York Post.

The book, to be titled, "Where the Right Went Wrong" will criticize Bush's foreign policy, particularly with regards to the Islamic world. The sharp criticism has tongues in the publishing world wagging. "They could put Michael Moore on the jacket of this book, and people would believe he wrote it," reports one publishing insider.

Buchanan will receive the sum of $500,000 for the book whose release will correspond with the Republican National Convention.

Amestoy Steps Down: Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy, author of the landmark 1999 ruling on gay rights that led to the state's creation of civil unions, said he is stepping down, reports the AP. In 1984, Amestoy, a Republican, was elected attorney general, a post he held until his appointment as chief justice in 1997 by then-Gov. Howard Dean.

"History will make its own judgment on the Baker decision as an expression of state constitutional law," Amestoy said on Wednesday, "but I don't think that there can be any doubt about the degree to which Vermont stands as an example of how a community ought to respond to an issue like that."

Amestoy said he hopes to devote a fair share of his time to researching, writing and speaking about issues raised by the Baker decision. His resignation will become effective August 6.

Quote of the Day: "I did something for the worst possible reason. Just because I could." -- Bill Clinton, to CBS News' Dan Rather, on his adultery