Obama VP team discusses 20 possible picks (From CNN):
Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential search team on Tuesday shared with a Democratic senator the names of about 20 people under consideration to be the presumptive Democratic nominee's running mate.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota, said that some of those considered are "top officials now," others are "former lawmakers" and others are "former top military leaders."
He said many of the names already have been "bandied about" in the media, but others were "outside the box."
He declined to give examples.
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Although Obama's campaign has not released the names of any front-runners for the VP spot, there's been a lot of speculation about who he will pick.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose tenacious refusal to surrender the nomination contest turned the Democratic race into one of the most nail-biting in modern U.S. political history, has indicated that she would be willing to sign up on a joint ticket.
Other possible front-runners include former presidential hopefuls Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and John Edwards.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who has often been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick, said Tuesday that if asked, he would "absolutely not" join the party's presidential ticket this fall.
Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who has served on both armed services and intelligence committees in the Senate, has been mentioned as a possible contender.
And ever since New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ruled out his own independent bid for the presidency, he's been seen as a potential running mate for both Obama and John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.
Wesley Clark, a former NATO commander who failed in his bid for the 2004 presidential nomination, could be in the running, along with a slew of current politicians including Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia.
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