Q: Mr. Vice President, which was tougher, waiting to hear whether you had been chosen or making the choice yourself?

Mondale: Making the choice myself. I think, you know, there wasn't a lot of complexity to whether I was going to accept if Carter asked me or not. I had decided that, so it was a very pleasant experience to have that chance. But trying to pick the best running mate and going through the options of many, many gifted people with different strengths and trying to figure out how it all works out and maybe, in the process, maybe helping get elected, that's really a very difficult process, and I think every nominee who has been through it, every presidential nominee, might agree with what I just said.

Q: So this is not an easy week for Barack Obama right now?

Mondale: He may have already decided. I've talked to their group about my experience a couple weeks ago. They have, I think wisely, done almost everything quietly, in personal contacts with the possibilities, and I'm sure they're doing all kinds of background work, but they've kept it out of the public eye, which I think is probably the way to do it. There are some risks to that approach, but as it gets close to making the decision, I'm sure he gets -- you know, this is the one choice you make as a presidential candidate that's out there, it's unambiguous, it's not only a measure of your choice there but it's really a judgment about what kind of president you'll be, so you better get it right.

Q: In 1976, when you were chosen, Jimmy Carter didn't announce that he selected you as his running mate until 10 o'clock in the morning on the day when your name went into nomination at the convention. How much advance notice did he give you?

Mondale: Well, you know, he invited about eight of us, separately, to come down to Plains, and he spent half a day with each of us, and he went through this process, most of which was public. And all I can say is that I thought it had gone well and I thought I had a good chance at it, but I did not know until 10 o'clock, as you point out, when I got the call that morning in the middle of the convention that I was the choice.

Q: I had read that you were at the Carlyle Hotel -- John F. Kennedy's favorite, of course.

Mondale: I was, I was sitting there, and we put in a separate telephone so they didn't ring into a busy phone. I figured he might not call back.

[laughter]

Q: In the modern era, at least, now you'd have a backup -- you'd have the cell phone and the e-mail. Well, if you didn't find out until the morning you were nominated, how did you write a speech so fast?

Mondale: We had to anticipate that because it was only a few hours, and so we were working on a speech just in case, and I had it largely completed when the governor -- then governor -- called.

Q: Now, did you give your nominee more advance notice, and would you recommend that course for candidates today?

Mondale: You know, it depends on the circumstances. I think it's a good idea, other things being equal, to get the name out early, to let people have a chance to know them, to give them a chance to settle down and get the speech and the other things that they want in place and work out the things that have to be developed between the president and the vice presidential candidates ahead of time. But that is not always -- I think that we announced --

Q: You announced about a week before she [Geraldine Ferraro] was nominated.

Mondale: Yeah, I was just going to say it was about a week before, so everybody knew about it and I think it helped -- she was a very popular choice. The convention was -- it was the first time, and the only time, I regret to say, that a woman has been on a national ticket, and I think the delegates really felt good about it.

Q: Well, in 1984, similar to this year, your race against Gary Hart didn't really end until early June with the primaries in New Jersey and California. When were you able to start seriously thinking about a vice presidential running mate?

Mondale: Well, I would say, early June. While it's true we were still in this contest, by the time the convention began, we had about a 600-delegate lead, so I don't think my nomination was really in doubt. We were still in contest, but it wasn't in doubt, so I would say two months, three months before we started talking about it.

Q: How far in advance of the announcement of Representative Ferraro on July 12, how far in advance did you settle on her in your own mind?

Mondale: I'd say about a week before. I'm not sure of what I'm telling you but I think about a week before.

Q: I guess I'm wondering here, as you went through the process, did the information that you were acquiring ultimately make your decision, or did you have a clear inclination going in and used that information you were obtaining to kind of test and reinforce that?

Mondale: No, I would say the whole process was important. I didn't go into it with any perceived notions, and we invited several persons to meet separately, as Carter did. Incidentally, I'm not sure that was the right thing to have done for me because I knew them all and it was kind of -- I think it looked sort of routine. I don't think it was fair to some of the candidates, but once I started it, I didn't know how to stop it.

Q: As you've talked to other nominees, is that usually the case? Do they start off with pretty much of a blank slate, or do they usually have a pretty strong inclination at the beginning?

Mondale: I think it goes like this: You sit down with your key advisers when you think you're going to be the presidential nominee and say, OK, we're going to find a good running mate, and you go around the room and hear names, and when you see that starts to be a public speculation, you hear from your friends around the country and you see a governor and he'll tell you what he thinks -- so the process just sort of starts naturally about that time. Once you're the putative nominee, then inevitably the top question is, who are you going to run with?

Q: And I think everybody you've ever met, inevitably, at that point has an opinion as well.

Mondale: Most of them are candidates.

[laughter]

Q: Does polling help at all? Is there political analysis that can help guide this decision?

Mondale: Well, there are a lot of things that go into it, certainly trying to figure out how popular the choice would be, how much the person might help you in the campaign, how well they can, for example, manage and handle debates with the opposition. The key question, of course, is, can they be president? Will people look at them as presidentially capable? And then you have to do all of the behind-the-scenes examination of taxes and possible areas of criticism and try to make certain that you've gotten past that, because once you've announced your choice, if there's something serious that comes up after that, it can be a real impediment.

Q: And you certainly had some complications with Representative Ferraro...

Mondale: Yeah, you know, this was, I think, understandable. In fact, when the tax returns were disclosed and Ferraro answered questions about them, the press for two or three hours, I think most people were convinced that it was just a judgment on their part, but it did give the impression that there was something being hidden -- it wasn't, but it gave that impression.

Q: This next one may not sound entirely like an historical question, but whenever there is a close fight for the nomination, there are always people who want the nominee to pick their top rival for the vice presidential slot. There were certainly people in 1984 who wanted Gary Hart to be on your ticket. Did you ever seriously consider that, and is it plausible for two rivals to get together like that after the bruises of a nomination fight?

Mondale: I think so. I think that we've all read the book "Team of Rivals." I think that was a wonderful example of what can be done by getting people together who once were competitors. But I've never, ever discussed who else I was thinking about or why I accepted or rejected somebody else. I've just never gotten into that conversation.

Q: We can await that day. Let me ask you about the other side of the equation. When you were selected, you were obviously already a prominent figure in national politics, you had been in the Senate, you were well known, but was it even, with that background, a difficult adjustment? And if so, what were the most difficult adjustments?

Mondale: Well, the jobs are so different. I think the fact that I'd had those years in the Senate and in the Congress and I had friends across the aisle, I think was a big help to me and I think was a big help to the president because I was able to represent the president there, hear from them and report back to the president. I think that was a big asset. But senator is a very independent public servant elected from a single state and free to pick and choose the issues and the rest usually at their own leisure. Vice president, as I found -- we executive-ized the vice president, which was a big reform that has made a big difference then and since -- is very close to the president, he's not the president or the prime minister or the deputy president -- he's a vice president there to help the president. So I'd say in many ways, it's a more significant office because you get into more issues and the fundamental way around the world. It's more of a national office than a senator is, although senators are called the United States Senator because you've got to look at the budget and everything from a national standpoint but it's also a more dependent office. In other words, your relationship with the president is indispensible to your ability to be a good vice president.

Q: How about as the vice presidential nominee, the candidate in '76? Was that an adjustment from your experience as a senator? Is that going to be a difficult adjustment for whoever is picked?

Mondale: It's a challenge because you're out there talking not just about what you think, but about what your president intends to do and what he believes. And for a person who hasn't had international and security experience, you're going to be swimming in waters that are full of sharks, and you're unfamiliar with it. I had some background, so that helped me there. But the Carter -- they were not demanding that they approve of my speeches, go over my speeches, or the rest. We unified our staffs so the key Mondale campaigners went down to Atlanta, they were in the same building, working together, and I think that helped coordinate things, but -- no, it's something that can't be taken lightly.

Q: So finally, having been through this process from both sides now, as Joni Mitchell might have said, what advice could you offer Barack Obama on how to make this decision?

Mondale: Pick someone who can be a good president. Don't put anybody on that list that doesn't pass that test. Put a lot of emphasis on compatibility because under this new arrangement that we started, you're together 24/7 four years, maybe eight years, and if it doesn't work, it's like a bad marriage but you can't get a divorce. Pick somebody that adds strengths, new dimensions, to your presidency where you might need help. Carter, you know, had never been in federal government, so there were a lot of places that I think I was able to help him. And then be darn sure that whoever you pick doesn't have problems which, if exposed, would be real trouble.

Q: You wouldn't happen to have anyone who fits all these criteria, would you?

Mondale: Well, I'm the only one who comes to mind, but I'm too modest to deal with it.

[laughter]

Q: Mr. Vice President, thanks so much for joining us on National Journal On Air.