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Political Notebook: Beebe not interested in VP spot Sunday, Jun 1, 2008 By John Lyon Stephens Media Count Gov. Mike Beebe out of any speculation over who the Democratic vice presidential nominee will be. Asked Friday if he would accept an offer of the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket, Beebe gave a one-word answer: "No." That isn't surprising, according to Hal Bass, a political science professor at Ouachita Baptist University. "There's no question Beebe's been a successful governor, and he's a very capable person, but he's shown, from my perspective, no real inclination to dip his foot into the national waters," Bass said. An Arkansan who would be more likely to accept such an offer, Bass said, is former four-star general Wesley Clark, who served as commander of NATO forces in Europe from 1997-2000 and waged a failed presidential campaign in 2004. Bass said the Democratic presidential nominee could see Clark's failed presidential bid as a plus. "One of the things about picking somebody out of obscurity is they haven't been ... vetted. I think Clark's campaign in 2004 gives him at least a measure of that vetting," Bass said. Clark published a memoir last year titled "A Time to Lead," co-written by Tom Carhart. Congressional newspaper The Hill recently asked sitting senators, including Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., whether they would accept an offer to be the vice presidential nominee. Lincoln said she would not answer a "what-if," and Pryor said he didn't know. On the Republican side, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who withdrew from the presidential race in March, said last month on NBC's "Meet the Press" that "there's no one I would rather be on a ticket with than John McCain." Readers of the Washington-based political Web site cqpolitics.com, which is affiliated with Congressional Quarterly Magazine, recently named Huckabee the person they would most like to see as McCain's running mate. Delta delegation to DC About 100 public officials and economic development advocates from the Delta region will make their annual trip to Washington this week, all optimistic that presidential candidates will make federal funding for the Delta a priority. The nonprofit, nongovernmental Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus has three days of meetings planned in the nation's capital. The highlight is a forum featuring surrogates for the three remaining presidential candidates. The group is seeking commitments from John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that they would support an increase in federal funding for the Delta Regional Authority. The federal economic development agency for the Delta has never received the $30 million in annual funding authorized by Congress when the DRA was created in 2001. The DRA received $12 million for fiscal 2008. "The next president needs to give at least the $30 million level in funding for the DRA," said Helena-West Helena Mayor James Valley, a caucus member. The presidential forum Wednesday features Obama surrogate Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., McCain surrogate Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., and Clinton surrogate Rep. Marion Berry, D-Gillett. The Delta group intends to hear from 15 lawmakers and a few Bush administration officials during its three days of meetings. Aaron Sadler of the Stephens Washington Bureau contributed to this report. |
