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WASHINGTON: US Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama on Wednesday gave out some clues about the qualities he
would seek in his running mate for the upcoming elections.
“I want somebody who can be a
good president if anything happened to me,” Obama told a news
conference in Chicago, Illinois.
“I want somebody who can be a
good adviser and counsel to me and tell me where he or she thinks
I’m wrong, not just on national security policy but on domestic
policy as well.”
Speculation has been on for a
long time about who will share the ticket with the Illinois senator.
Both before and after he established a vice presidential vetting
team, more than 20 names have been put on the table including his
former rivals in the party nomination race—Hillary Clinton, John
Edwards and Bill Richardson.
His potential running mates also
include some former and current senators, and governors and military
generals, but no one has so far netted the clear possibility.
US political analysts and news
media speculate that the 46-year-old Obama would find someone with
rich foreign and defense experience to offset the advantages of his
Republican rival, John McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and a leading
voice on national security affairs in Congress.
Traditionally, a US presidential
nominee would select a running mate who can help him win
battleground states, shore up his weak side, play to his strengths
or at least spark voters’ enthusiasm.
Obama’s campaign manager David
Plouffe, however, said earlier on Wednesday that Obama is likely to
choose his partner based on qualifications rather than other
factors.
“I think Barack Obama will pick
someone who first of all he believes is most qualified to be
president and someone who will be a partner in government,” he
said.
--Xinhua
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