Obama starts searching for running mate

Source: Xinhua | 05-23-2008 09:33

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has started searching for a running mate, sources closed to him said Thursday.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate and US Senator  Barack Obama, (D-IL), arrives with John and Mary  Blackfeet, his new Crow "parents" who adopted him as a member of the Crow nation, for a campaign rally in Crow Agency, Montana May 19, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

A veteran Democratic activist was quoted by U.S. TV networks assaying that former Fannie Mae executive Jim Johnson has accepted Obama's request to begin a screening and selection process for a vice presidential candidate.

Johnson performed a similar role for Democratic presidential nominees Walter Mondale in 1984 and John Kerry in 2004.

However, Obama and his campaign declined to comment on the issue, saying they have yet set criteria for a running mate.

The Democratic presidential nomination race is unfinished, but Obama already has an insurmountable lead over his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

Obama's lack of a long record at the national level -- he has been a senator only since 2005 -- leaves him with comparatively little national security experience.

That may make it less likely that Obama would choose a state governor as his running mate, since they tend to have few national security qualifications, analysts said.

Editor:Liu Fang