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McCain, VP Pick to Hit Ground Running on Way to St. Paul

Posted on: Friday, 29 August 2008, 06:00 CDT

By David Jackson

DAYTON, Ohio -- Republican John McCain will appear with his running mate today and kick off a weekend tour of battleground states that leads into the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

"He has made his selection," campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said. "I can't tell you who it is yet."

Griffin and other McCain campaign officials declined further comment about who the vice presidential pick will be and when the name will be announced.

When reporters asked McCain who he had picked, he replied, "Wilford Brimley." Brimley is an actor who played the manager of a baseball team in The Natural.

McCain and his running mate are scheduled to appear at a midday rally at the Wright State University basketball arena here. Today is also McCain's 72nd birthday.

The duo will then take a bus tour en route to Pittsburgh and rally at a ballpark Saturday evening in Washington, Pa., about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh.

One potential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, appeared Thursday at the site of the Democratic convention in Denver but abruptly canceled some scheduled appearances. Pawlenty spokesman Alex Carey confirmed that the Minnesota governor canceled an afternoon "slate of interviews" but would not comment further.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, one of McCain's rivals for the GOP nomination, was already scheduled to appear with McCain at a "road to the convention" rally on Sunday near St. Louis. That rally is also set to feature another former GOP rival, ex-Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

On the day of Democrat Barack Obama's acceptance speech, McCain unveiled a television ad in which he speaks directly to the camera to congratulate his opponent on his nomination. McCain also makes a reference to the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" civil rights address.

"How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day," McCain tells the nation's first black presidential nominee of a major party. "Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight, senator, job well done."

Obama aides are preparing for the GOP vice presidential pick.

"It won't make a lick of difference to struggling American families who John McCain chooses to be the next Dick Cheney if he continues to insist on being the next George Bush," Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan said.

Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Reagan, said McCain needs to pick a running mate whom Americans can automatically see as presidential material. McCain should also have been looking for "a strong partnership and chemistry" with his vice presidential candidate.

"He needs to be viewed by the American people as credible," Duberstein said. "This is not the time for on-the-job training." (c) Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

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