Informed Speculation

At least, that’s the impression you get from following Obama’s VP vetting process.

First up, Hillary:

Is the so-called Democratic ‘dream ticket’ off the table?

Despite speculation that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is seriously considering Hillary Clinton for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic presidential ticket, a former senior advisor to Clinton said Thursday he doesn’t think the New York senator is being formally considered for the job.

Howard Wolfson, the former Clinton campaign communications director, told Fox News Thursday he isn’t aware of any official effort on behalf of the Obama campaign that suggests the Illinois senator is considering his former rival for his running mate.

“Not as far as I know,” Wolfson said when asked if Clinton had been “asked to participate in the vetting process for VP.”

But here was Dodd’s response when asked:

“There’s been some inquiries, yeah. They ask for a lot of stuff. I’ll leave it there.”

Another frequently mentioned possibility is no longer denying it:

Kathleen Sebelius is no longer denying that she is being vetted by Barack Obama’s campaign.

The 60-year-old Kansas governor told me on Thursday that she was never vetted for the vice presidency in 2004 but declined to make the same pronouncement about this year’s process.

Asked whether Team Kerry ran the traps on her, she flatly said “No.” Asked about this year, she said “Any discussion about this process is being done by the campaign itself.”

No surprise on Hillary – though I’m on the record as saying that an Obama-Clinton ticket would be damn near unbeatable, it has appeared quite unlikely from the beginning…

UPDATE 07/12/08 12:11 p.m.: The problem may not be Hillary, but her husband:

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.”

While that’s not doubt true, I’m sure Bill Clinton’s racially charged comments during the primary didn’t exactly endear him to Team Obama…