Watch a clip from Graham's interview Thursday on American Morning.

(CNN) – Ever wonder what its like to be on the short list? Well, former senator Bob Graham can tell you because the Florida Democrat was vetted three times – in 1988, 1992, and 2004 – for the #2 spot on his party’s ticket.

“Well, the process is very intense,” Graham told CNN’s Carol Costello on American Morning Friday. “Typically they will have a lawyer, accountant, a political operative, and a private detective reviewing your background for every issue that might arise.”

There’s more. “You are interviewed on several occasions,” said Graham. “If you make it to the short ‘short list’ you get interviewed by the nominee.”

Graham also told Costello that he didn’t think a detailed list he keeps of daily to-do tasks had anything to do with being overlooked for the vice presidential nomination.

Gov. Kaine campaigned for Sen. Obama in Leesburg, Virginia last week.

(CNN) - As the veepstakes continue to dominate headlines, plenty of politicians have made it clear they’re not going to be on the Democratic ticket this fall. But with the final announcement perhaps just hours away, one of the men rumored to be at the top of Barack Obama’s VP shortlist declined a chance to clarify his own status.

Asked by CNN American Morning’s John Roberts whether the fact that he’d agreed to an interview at the height of the pre-announcement frenzy meant he would not be Obama’s running mate, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine demurred.

“You’ll just have to hear from the campaign, and they’ll make the announcement when [they’re] ready,” said Kaine.

Is Kaine still on the list? “I’ll go back to that answer,” said Kaine. “I’ll call that taking the fifth or something. Hear from the campaign, John. They’ll let us all know when they want to.”

Kaine also would not say whether or not he had been through the VP vetting process. “I’m going to stick with the first answer. It’s been flattering to be mentioned. My mom in Kansas City loves it when someone will talk about me as VP.”

Obama and Kaine are scheduled to campaign together in Virginia today.

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(CNN) - Alaska Senator Ted Stevens’ time in Congress may be nearing its end after a very long tenure.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena reports on Stevens' indictment.

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is receiving some harsh criticism from supporters for possible changes to social security payroll taxes. Mary Snow has the details.

And, Wolf Blitzer speaks with Robert Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration, about the economy and Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Finally, Obama may be closer to picking his running mate. Suzanne Malveaux takes a look at some names that may be on Obama's short list.

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Clinton has the most support among Facebook members speculating about Obama's running mate.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In an election that's been indelibly shaped by the Internet, veepstakes speculation is alive and well on Facebook, world's sixth most-trafficked Web site.

Among Democrats on the popular social networking site, Hillary Clinton is far and away the favorite to be tapped as Barack Obama's running mate. For John McCain, Mike Huckabee leads the prospective vice presidential pack.

More than 3,000 Facebook members have joined over 40 groups supporting Clinton for vice president, though most of the groups were originally formed to push for an Obama-Clinton unity ticket during the long primary battle. Once Clinton dropped out, many of these Facebook groups started pushing for her to be tapped as Obama's running mate.

Clinton is trailed by John Edwards, who is backed by 18 groups with nearly 2,000 members. He's followed by Bill Richardson with 514 Facebook supporters, putting the New Mexico governor slightly ahead of Joe Biden, who has 510 fans hoping Obama puts him on the ticket.

The Democratic frontrunners are followed, in descending order, by Jim Webb, Kathleen Sebelius, Al Gore, Wes Clark, Chuck Hagel, Evan Bayh, Mark Warner, Claire McCaskill and Janet Napolitano.

Three students at an all-girls Catholic high school in Houston are rooting for Obama to tap long shot Democratic candidate Mike Gravel. And one 18-member Facebook group, launched in February of last year, is holding out hope that Obama will choose Bill Clinton as his running mate.

Among Republicans, Huckabee (3,697 Facebook supporters) and Mitt Romney (over 2,700 supporters) are the favorites to share the ticket with McCain. But aside from McCain's former presidential rivals, few GOP politicians seem to be generating much buzz on the site.

Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin and Condoleezza Rice have a few hundred supporters each, just a fraction of the frontrunners' total. They're followed by Haley Barbour, Fred Thompson, John Thune and Mark Sanford.

And Charlie Crist, who regularly tops speculation among political observers, draws just 11 supporters. One of them is Canadian.

Watch Johnsons comments to CNN Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Billionaire businessman Bob Johnson, a close adviser and friend to Sen. Hillary Clinton , launched a campaign Wednesday to persuade Sen. Barack Obama to offer the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket to Clinton.

Johnson told CNN's "American Morning" that Clinton knows about his push but "she didn't direct me to do it."

A day after the final two primaries, Johnson sent a letter to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Wednesday to lobby the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Clinton as Obama's running mate. He said it needs to be done for the sake of party unity.

"There's no question that Sen. Clinton will do whatever she's asked to do for the party and she will certainly ... entertain the idea if it's offered," Johnson said.

In his letter directed at the Congressional Black Caucus, Johnson wrote:

"As African Americans we agree that the stakes in this election are far too high to take any chances that this party will not be unified from the top to the bottom in our effort to gain control of The White House."

He further wrote:

"You know as well as I the deep affection that millions of African Americans hold for both Senator Clinton and President Clinton. ... But most important, we need to have the certainty of winning; and, I believe, without question, that Barack Obama as President and Hillary Clinton as Vice President bring that certainty to the ticket."

Johnson, who founded Black Entertainment Television, also owns the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team.

He told CNN he was not trying to limit Obama's options, or force him to pick Clinton.

"My letter was not a pressure letter," he said. "This is Sen. Obama's decision.

"If the Congress members can come together and agree as I do that it would be in the best interest of the party to have Sen. Clinton on the ticket, they carry that petition to Sen. Obama," he said.

"This is not a pressure. This is elected officials giving their best judgment."

Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday night, according to CNN estimates of the delegate count.

He praised Clinton in a speech on Tuesday evening and said she will be central in the battle for universal health care and efforts to transform energy policy and lift children from poverty.

But in her speech after winning the South Dakota primary, Clinton said Tuesday night she would make no immediate decision on her next steps.

Obama and Clinton spoke by phone for a few minutes early Wednesday. He told her he wants to "sit down when it makes sense for" her, said Robert Gibbs, an Obama spokesman. She indicated she believed that would happen soon, Gibbs said.

Johnson created a stir and drew wide criticism in January for comments he made at a Clinton campaign stop in Columbia, S.C., that some interpreted as a reference to Obama's acknowledged drug use as a teenager.

In defending the Clintons' record on civil rights, Johnson said, "To me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood - and I won't say what he was doing,
but he said it in the book - when they have been involved."

Many people believe Johnson was referring to Obama's drug use, which the senator publicly wrote about in his memoirs, though Johnson later said he was not.

The New York Observer will endorse Clinton to be Obama’s choice for VP.

NEW YORK (CNN) – With Barack Obama on the verge of securing enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, a New York newspaper signaled it will use its editorial page Wednesday to urge him to pick rival Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

The New York Observer informed the media Tuesday evening of its intention to endorse Clinton to be Obama’s vice presidential pick. Prior to the New York primary on February 5, the newspaper threw its support behind Obama to be the Democratic presidential nominee.

Watch this clip from the Situation Room about the Democratic VP nod.

(CNN) - Watch Wolf Blitzer talk with Republican Strategist Ed Rollins and CNN Political Contributor Donna Brazile about the possibility of Sen. Hillary Clinton being the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee.

What's your bet for the Republican and Democratic VP nominees?.

(CNN) - Internet Reporter Abbi Tatton fills you in on websites where you can predict who the VP choices might be for both political parties.

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(CNN) - Veterans were appropriately the topic of discussion out on the campaign trail this Memorial Day.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Mary Snow reports on how Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain used Memorial Day to explain their positions on veterans' benefits.

White House Correspondent Ed Henry previews a McCain fund-raising event that will be headlined by none other than President Bush himself.

CNN has confirmed that the Obama campaign has already begun a search for the Illinois senator's running mate in the event he secures the Democratic nomination. Jessica Yellin takes a look at who Obama may be considering.

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As the veepstakes heat up, CNN Political Producer Alan Silverleib weighs the pros and cons of 10 possible choices for each party - from the familiar figures to the dark horses.