Biden says couldn't turn down VP offer from Obama
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Foreign policy heavyweight Joseph Biden said Sunday he would serve as Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee if asked, but insisted he was not angling for the job.
Senator Biden, a front-runner in the media VP stakes whose own bid for the Democratic nomination this year was short-lived, said on NBC television: "I am not interested in the vice presidency."
Biden, who is chairman of the Senate's powerful foreign relations committee and would bring national-security heft to an Obama ticket, said he had told the party's new standard-bearer that he was not interested.
But he added: "If the candidate asks me to be vice president, the answer is I got to say yes. But he's not going to ask me.
"Unlike most other people, I'm being straight with you. If asked, I will do it. I've made it clear I do not want to be asked," said the Delaware senator, 65, whose birth state of Pennsylvania is a big prize in November's election.
Biden said he would have to say yes because "am I going to say to the first African-American candidate about to make history in the world that, 'No, I will not help you out like you want me to'? Of course I'll say yes."
For Republican candidate John McCain, the name most touted in the media is Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, 47, who comes from a blue-collar family and says the party needs to reach out to working-class voters.
He told CNN that nobody in McCain's VP search team had been in contact with him.
"Well, I'm focused on my day job... this is not something that I have designs on. I'm very happy with being governor of the state of Minnesota," said Pawlenty, who hosted a visit to the state on Thursday by McCain.
Other names in the Democratic VP stakes include former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, 60, who has become a close adviser to Obama.
"I'm not seeking the vice presidency. I've not talked to Barack about it. I don't expect to be asked. And I have no interest," he said on Fox News Sunday, while adding "obviously, you'd think about it."
