Gore Narrows Veep Search

July 26, 2000 -- Vice President Al Gore said today he has not made a final decision about his running mate, but indicated that he is narrowing his search.

Appearing with the Rev. Jesse Jackson before the leadership of the Chicago-based organization People United to Save Humanity, Gore said he was “not ready yet” to select a vice-presidential candidate.

A day after Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Gore’s Republican rival, named Dick Cheney as his running mate, Gore also said in a radio interview that his list of prospective vice-presidential candidates was down to “a very few” names, but refused to specify who they are.

Contenders most frequently mentioned include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine.

Could Kerry Be the One?

Kerry, who appeared with Gore at a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser in Washington Tuesday evening, declined to comment on his chances today.

“I don’t want to play any games with you,” Kerry told reporters on Capitol Hill, “it’s a process which they’ve requested be private.”

Appearing at a press conference with Kerry this afternoon, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona drew laughs as he acknowledged that a Gore-Kerry pairing could be just the ticket Democrats need.

Kerry, McCain said, is “an accomplished debater and a person who knows the issues,” adding, “therefore I strongly recommend that Vice President Gore not select Senator Kerry as his running mate.”

Meeting with Headhunter

Tuesday, Gore told reporters he was “getting down to what you could call a short list, but we still have some work to do,” prior to a meeting with his veep-hunter, former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, at the official vice president’s residence in Washington.

The Democratic presidential candidate said that he was “looking for someone with whom I can have a great partnership and someone who shares my values, and is willing to fight for the people and not the powerful,” using a phrase he often works into stump speeches.

And after a campaign event Tuesday afternoon, Gore took a jab at Bush’s choice of Cheney, adding that he would choose a vice-presidential candidate who would be “willing to take on the big polluters … and big oil.”

Both Bush and Cheney have served as oil company executives.

Public Reminder

Gore’s meeting with Christopher, coming the day that Bush formally announced Cheney as his running mate, served as a public reminder that Gore’s search continues — and gave the current vice president a chance to portray his search process as businesslike and efficient.

Gore said he was “trying to keep the process very private and dignified,” a jab at Bush’s vice-presidential search process, in which news about Cheney’s selection leaked out well before Bush made any formal announcement.

“I’ve been through this process myself on the other side,” said Gore, alluding to his selection by Bill Clinton in 1992.

Gore added that it was “only fair” to keep the search out of the public eye “because only one person is going to be picked … I want the ones who are not picked to be still respected and well-treated.”

But while Gore is emphasizing a desire to conduct a low-key search, he did make himself and Christopher available to the press, and appeared at separate campaign events Tuesday with Kerry and another man tabbed as a potential running mate, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin.

Christopher Mum on Veep InterestNeither Gore nor Christopher would say if Christopher was himself on Gore’s list of candidates. Bush first asked Cheney to head up his selection process in April before going on to choose him.

But Tuesday, Gore made light of that suggestion.

“I just wanted to pre-emptively say that there is no truth to the rumor that Warren Christopher is on his way to Tennessee right now to change his voter registration,” he joked.

Cheney’s position as a leading candidate in Bush’s search was made clear last Friday when Cheney flew from Texas to Wyoming to change his voter registration, thus eliminating a potential constitutional bar to his candidacy.

ABCNEWS’ Dana Hill contributed to this report.