Vice President U S

As Sen. Barack Obama prepares to announce his vice presidential pick, some people close to Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. say he has leaped to the top of the list of prospects. Biden's junior colleague in the Senate, Thomas R. Carper, said in an interview Tuesday that he understood Biden's chances to be serious. Carper said Biden would be a solid choice. "I look at the aspects of our ticket -- where we're strongest and where we're most in need of help -- and Joe brings more to the ticket than any of the other people whose names are mentioned as finalists," he said.

Speculation about the Democratic and Republican vice presidential candidates, and the timing of the announcements, reached a fever pitch Monday in the news media and among politics junkies. Even with the Democratic convention coming up in a week, most indications were that Barack Obama would wait until at least Thursday to disclose his choice. There was no official comment from the Obama camp. Much of the chatter focused on three possible picks: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

In the much-hyped search for John McCain's vice presidential candidate, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge often surfaced as a possibility. The two entered Congress together in 1982. McCain called Ridge a "beloved friend" and "one of the ideal Americans that I have ever known" in a recent Wilkes-Barre, Pa., appearance. And the Republican presidential candidate could use the former Pennsylvania governor's help turning the Keystone State into a red state.

Barack Obama told a potential donor to his campaign that Hillary Rodham Clinton is on his list of possible vice presidential running mates, but that her husband's status as a former president makes matters "complicated." Jill Iscol, a faithful Democratic donor who was an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said Obama reached out to her because he heard she was unhappy about the way the New York senator had been treated by the Democratic Party and the media.

As John McCain campaigns around the country, there's a topic that the self-described straight talker tries to dodge: choosing a running mate. Yet the issue is coming up almost everywhere he goes. On Wednesday, McCain headed a discussion on energy at Missouri State University in Springfield. At his side sat tall, square-jawed Gen. James L. Jones.

The resignation of Barack Obama's "vetter in chief" Wednesday may introduce yet another layer to the already intensive process of identifying a vice presidential candidate -- vetting the vetters. James A. Johnson, a well-connected Washington political insider, was supposed to help Obama find a running mate whose past would not embarrass the ticket. His sudden resignation amid criticism of his own past financial dealings spotlights just how crucial that role has become.

On the eve of Bob Dole's announcement of his vice presidential running mate in 1996, John McCain knew he was under serious consideration. But he was on an ill-timed trip to Hawaii -- without a cellphone. As he tells it, he spent most of the time worried about missing a call to his hotel room, which never came. He learned Dole had passed him over for Jack Kemp when he flipped on the television news.

No one can agree on what exactly happened the day a Colorado man spotted Dick Cheney strolling the streets of a ski resort town and decided to give the vice president a piece of his mind. Steve Howards, 55, says he walked up to Cheney and delivered his message -- "Your policies in Iraq are disgusting" -- then lightly touched the vice president's shoulder. The White House photographer says he saw Howards slap Cheney on the back.

Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, had surgery to replace an implanted device that monitors his heartbeat. Doctors at George Washington University Hospital replaced his battery-powered defibrillator. If the device were to sense an abnormal rhythm, it would deliver an electronic shock to reset Cheney's heart to a normal beat. "The device was successfully replaced without complication," said Megan McGinn, Cheney's deputy press secretary.

Vice President Dick Cheney won't lose his home, office and entertainment expense account after all. The House on Thursday rejected an effort to eliminate the vice president's executive office budget, a move that Democrats tied to Cheney's assertion that his office didn't need to comply with national security disclosure rules required of executive branch agencies. Republicans denounced the proposal as political theater.