During a briefing "to about 50 reporters from battleground states," Barack Obama mgr. David Plouffe described Mitt Romney as "a job-killing machine" who would "hurt" John McCain's "economic appeal if he joins" the ticket. Plouffe: "This is someone who was a job-killing machine in business. He's someone who has been proficient at using tax havens in places like the Cayman Islands that Americans have become increasingly tired of. ... Will (naming Romney) help in Michigan? I don't know. But on things like outsourcing, there's almost an acceptance (by Romney) that it's OK to have all this job loss."
Romney spokesperson Eric Fehrnstrom "shot back," saying: "Mitt Romney has run the Olympics, he's run a state and he's run a successful business. Barack Obama has never run anything, not even a corner store. These tired, old attacks are laughable coming from someone with no leadership record and no experience to be president" (Trowbridge, Detroit News, 8/26).
Romney "will speak at a luncheon for reporters" in Denver today and later, at a presser at the RNC's "Not Ready '08 Response Center."
Romney's appearances "come after a group of evangelical conservatives asked McCain to choose a vice president more in line with their values than Romney" (Riley Roche, Deseret News, 8/26).
The Other Joe
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) called his appearance 8/25 "at the same hotel where he appeared the week before" Al Gore picked him to be his VP a "a coincidence." When asked about being McCain's VP, Lieberman was "coy." Lieberman: "The rest of us, particularly thoes of us who are privileged to be his friends, ought to take a temporary vow of silence. So, there's not much more I can say about this" (Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 8/26).
More Lieberman: "I don't expect that offer will will be extended to me, but I'm going to continue my vow of silence about any hypotheticals" (Mann, The Day, 8/26).
T-Paw Continues To Claw
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) was in OH 8/25, where he "jokingly" proposed "that the time allotted" for the VP debate "be extended." Speaking at the Canton McKinley Rifle & Pistol Club, Pawlenty referred to Obama VP pick Joe Biden, saying: "They're going to have to extend the length of the debate to two or three hours because I don't think he's going to be able to fit his part of the debate in in just one hour" (Milicia, AP, 8/25).
Take It From Me
PA Gov. Ed Rendell (D) is "forecasting" that McCain "won't" pick ex-PA Gov. Tom Ridge (R) as his VP. PA Dem delegate Curtis Jones: "He said it pretty bluntly. It kind of shocked me" (Guerriero, Erie Times-News, 8/26).
Meanwhile, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said during a radio interview that "she believes" that Obama picking Biden means McCain "will select" Romney "as his running mate" (Trowbridge, Detroit News, 8/25).
More On The Biden Effect
Dick Morris, on whether McCain will change his VP pick as a result of Obama picking Biden: "It's hard to tell, because I don't think he's made a decision. But I think that he may have wanted to do Lieberman, and then he got scared away because of the conservative blowback. And then he may have thought well, I guess have I have to do romney, even though he's not happy about it. But I hope he's looking at this enormous opportunity to name a woman and punch through. He could win this election by naming a woman. It's not just a question of having an east coast or west coast. Feminists feel it's terribly important to have a woman" ("Fox & Friends," FNC, 8/26).
The 'When' Question
Ex-Clinton comm. dir. Howard Wolfson, on reports McCain may announce his VP pick 8/28: "Karl Rove was asked about this last night, and he said what I'm about to say. I agree with him completely> It is not a good idea to try to compete with the speech of a presidential candidate. Barack Obama is going to get wall-to-wall coverage for his speech. John McCain is not going to be able to compete by announcing his veep selection, unless it's Jay Leno or somebody like that. I don't think they are going to do that. That would be a bad idea. The people there are smart. They know that's a bad idea. That's not going to happen" ("Fox & Friends," FNC, 8/26).
CNN's L. King: "Tucker, do you have any idea if he has made his vice presidential selection?"
McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds: "Well, I know that's an obligatory question, Larry. ... I will oblige by saying we haven't announced it yet. We have no intentions of announcing it tomorrow. I can tell you that. But I know that he's been thinking about this very hard. We don't get into the process and the selection other than to say John McCain is going to pick someone that he feels is the best partner to move toward reforming Washington, changing the way things get done. So that the problems that the American people face right around their kitchen tables are problems that are being taken up in Washington. Not only in their family budgets and in their households."
King: "Will it be Friday? I can ask you that."
Bounds: "Yes, certainly can. I can't answer authoritatively because we haven't announced yet where and when or where we're going to make the announcement. But I can tell you there is a window where these things are likely. And I would expect over the course of the next week there'll be a meaningful announcement from the McCain campaign" ("LKL," CNN, 8/25).
Just When You Thought He Was In
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) "says he's out of the running" to be McCain's VP. Thune "said he had talked to Mr. McCain's campaign a little bit about issue and added, 'I would say I'm out of the running'" (Jalonick, AP, 8/25).
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