(CNN) – A roundup of comments on the Sunday political talk shows, compiled by the CNN Wire:
On Obama's selection of Sen. Joe Biden as VP:
"I don't think (Obama) is ready to be president. And when you're commander in chief, you shouldn't be having to select a mentor to help you with that role." –Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a potential VP for McCain, on CNN's "Late Edition"
"It was an honor to be in that final two or three. You know, I don't think you'd be there unless they concluded you had a lot of positive things to offer and probably not too many negatives." -Sen. Evan Bayh, whom Obama considered for VP, on CNN
"It always seemed like kind of a longshot to me, but it was really, really nice to be mentioned." -Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, also considered for VP, on "Fox News Sunday"
"We didn't hire him for his stunning good looks. We hired him for his judgment to lead this country if something happens to Barack Obama, and the judgment and the advice that he'll give the next president of the United States." -Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs, on Fox
"It's really a process, for me, that was wonderful to be part of, because I really came away thinking, once again, that there are so many great people in public service." -Caroline Kennedy, co-chair of Obama's VP search committee, on NBC's "Meet the Press"
DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – Hillary Clinton learned Friday she would not be Barack Obama’s running mate by a close associate and later that day spoke directly to Obama, according to a senior Obama aide and a Democratic official.
The associate was asked by the Obama campaign to inform Clinton she was not his running mate before it was publicly announced. It is not clear what Clinton and Obama talked about in the private conversation that took place later.
The two senators-turned-rivals engaged in a bitter battle for the Democratic nomination, which ended when Clinton conceded in early June. An effort by some of Clinton’s supporters to have Obama choose her to be his running mate failed.
Obama announced Saturday he had chosen Joe Biden to join him on the ticket, and the two men will formally accept the party’s nominations this week.
The bitterness between the two campaigns has been well documented and even Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, jumped into the bickering.
The senior Obama campaign aide told CNN that Obama and Bill Clinton had “a long, wide-ranging conversation with President Clinton” on Thursday, but noted it did not focus on Obama’s vice presidential deliberations.
Hillary Clinton addresses the convention Tuesday and her husband speaks on Wednesday.
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(CNN) - John McCain’s campaign may have used Joe Biden in a negative spot just hours after Barack Obama named the Delaware senator his running mate, but the presumptive Republican nominee had nothing but good things to say in a new interview.
"I think he's a good selection," McCain told CBS’s Katie Couric. "Joe and I have been friends for many, many years, and we know each other very well, and so I think [Obama’s] made a very wise selection.
“I know that Joe will campaign well for Senator Obama, and so I think he's going to be very formidable. Obviously, Joe and I have been on different philosophical sides, but we have been - I consider him a good friend and a good man."
Biden and McCain – who have both built solid Senate reputations on foreign policy and national security issues – have long maintained a cordial relationship, even as they tussled over policy.
Back in 2005, Biden told the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart that McCain was "a personal friend, a great friend. I would be honored to run with or against John McCain because I think the country would be better off."
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, reflected on a moment that few people in this world get to experience - receiving a personal call from Barack Obama informing him that he will not be his vice presidential running mate.
Speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Sunday, Bayh acknowledged that he was grateful to be one of the two or three finalists for the job.
“Obviously, Wolf, it’s a life-changing moment,” Bayh said on CNN’s "Late Edition."
“He had a lot of nice things to say about me, which I was very flattered by. I told him I was honored to be considered… and that I thought Joe Biden was an excellent man and he could count on me in anyway that I could.”
When asked if Obama gave any reasons for his decision, Bayh said he did not provide specifics.
“He just said that they were going to be going in a different direction but he said that that was a reflection on other things than me. He said a number of things that I would sound immodest if I recounted to you, so I’m not going to do that.”
Along with Biden and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Bayh was widely speculated to be one of the finalists to be Obama’s running mate. His experience as a two-term senator and governor from a state that Obama is working hard to put in the blue column made him a very appealing candidate.
Bayh received the call on Friday and said that he called Biden early Saturday morning to congratulate him.
(CNN) – Police in the city that will host the Republican National Convention next week are looking for suspects in the vandalism of Barack Obama’s St. Paul campaign offices.
Police spokesman Peter Panos said the incident occurred just after 1 a.m. CT Sunday. Arriving officers found two large plate glass windows shattered, a glass door “smashed out,” and paint splattered inside and outside the building.
The storefront offices on Raymond Avenue had several Obama campaign signs hanging on it. The signs remained on some of the broken windows while large shards of glass covered the sidewalk in front of the building and the floor inside.
One campaign worker was in a lower level of the building when the vandalism occurred. Panos said they do not believe the suspects were aware anyone was inside, and “their intent was not to hurt anyone.” He said no threats were received, and the incident is being investigating as a local property crime case. Federal authorities were not alerted.
Police are reviewing security videotapes from nearby businesses to see if any suspects could be identified. They have issued an appeal for anyone with information to contact officers or a Crimestoppers tip line.
DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – A new national CNN poll of polls suggests Barack Obama has a modest 4-point lead over John McCain in the battle for the White House.
In the survey, compiled Sunday morning, 46 percent of those questioned said that Obama, D-Illinois, is their choice for president, with 42 percent backing Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. Twelve percent of those polled are undecided.
Obama had a 2-point lead in the last poll of polls, compiled late last week.
CNN’s poll of polls is an average of the latest national polls. Today’s edition consists of three surveys: an ABC/Washington Post poll taken from August 19-22, a Fox/Opinion Dynamics survey taken on August 19 and 20, and a Gallup tracking poll taken from August 20-22.
Since most of the polling was conducted before Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was named as Obama’s running mate, it’s too early to tell if his joining the Democratic ticket will make any difference in the polls.
But a new USA Today/Gallup poll out Sunday morning suggests that Biden may not make a major impact on the race for the White House. Fourteen percent of those question say that having Biden on the Democratic ticket makes them more likely to vote for Obama in November, with 7 percent saying it will make them less likely, and 72 percent saying Biden’s pick will not have much impact on their vote.
Twenty-three percent of those questioned in the poll say they’ve never heard of Biden, who’s the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and who was a presidential candidate before dropping out of the race in January.
Twenty-eight percent of those polled say they have no opinion of Biden. The USA Today/Gallup poll was conducted Saturday, after news of Biden’s selection came out.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, long-rumored to be on Sen. John McCain’s short list for vice president, told CNN’s “Late Edition” he isn’t concerned about newly chosen Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
Calling Biden “long-winded,” Pawlenty told host Wolf Blitzer, “I think any of the people that Senator McCain is thinking about for vice president will be more than able to hold their own against Senator Biden.” The Republican vice presidential nominee will get his or her chance to face Biden during the vice presidential debate on October 2 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Other names circulated in Republican circles for the number two spot on the McCain ticket include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; Tom Ridge, former Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania governor; and Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent Democrat and longtime ally of McCain.
Pawlenty appeared on “Late Edition” today while campaigning for McCain in Pennsylvania. He has spent the last few months speaking on McCain’s behalf in battleground states such as Michigan, fueling further speculation that he’s being seriously considered for the VP spot.
On Monday he is expected to campaign in Ohio for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
When pressed by Blitzer if he expected to be McCain’s running mate, or if he felt ready to hold the office, Pawlenty refused to speculate. “I just don't talk about the VP speculation anymore.”
(CNN) – John McCain’s campaign is making its boldest pitch yet for disaffected supporters of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, releasing a new TV ad Sunday that claims Barack Obama’s discomfort with her honesty cost her a spot on the Democratic ticket.
“She won millions of votes. But isn't on his ticket. Why? For speaking the truth,” says the announcer in 'Passed Over.'
The spot uses primary season footage of the New York senator criticizing Obama’s policy proposals ("You never hear the specifics"), his links to convicted Chicago developer Tony Rezko ("We still don't have a lot of answers about Senator Obama"), and his campaign trail attacks ("Senator Obama's campaign has become increasingly negative").
“The truth hurt,” says the announcer. “And Obama didn't like it.”
The spot was officially released at 3 a.m. - the hour that became a campaign catch-phrase after a Clinton ad asked voters who they’d like answering the phone in the Oval Office if a crisis broke in the middle of the night.
DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – A new poll suggests the race for the White House remains all tied up here in Colorado.
In a Quinnipiac University survey of likely Colorado voters out Sunday, 47 percent of those questioned say presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is their choice for President, with 46 percent backing Democratic rival Barack Obama. The 1 point difference makes the result a statistical dead heat.
Seven percent of those polled remain undecided.
George W. Bush won Colorado by 9 points in the 2000 election, and took the state by 5 points in his re-election bid four years ago.
But the Democrats made major gains in Colorado in statewide elections in 2006, and they hope to capture the state in this year’s presidential election. That’s one reason why the party is holding their convention in Colorado’s capital city.
“In 2004, young voters outnumbered seniors in Colorado. And Democrats are making a big push to get even more of them to the polls this year, along with Latinos and suburban women, two other groups that have been trending Democratic in Colorado,” says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.
From CNN Politics
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