US Prez race: V-P candidates to be named soon

TOP SECRET: Campaign aides are keeping the process and the names under wraps.

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Washington: Meetings with Congressional Democrats, the Pakistani Prime Minister and the Federal Reserve Chairman are all on Senator Barack Obama's public schedule.

But it was the two unannounced and very secretive meetings with his vice-presidential team that had Washington insiders buzzing about a potential announcement.

Predicting who a presidential candidate will pick as a running mate though is a dangerous game.

When John Kerry was running for president, a screaming headline had claimed that his vice-presidential candidate was Dick Gephardt, but it turned out to be someone else.

With the Democratic convention less than a month away Barack Obama remains mum.

"The next time I talk about my vice-presidential selection, it will be to introduce that selection," the Senator said.

However, the buzz is around Virginia's Governor Tim Kaine, who's been campaigning for Obama for the last year-and-a-half. But asked directly whether he's being courted, Kaine remains coy.

"Tim Kaine makes a lot of sense for Barack Obama as Virginia is going to be one of the two or three key states for Obama," says Editor and Publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, Stu Rothenberg.

Other choices are Chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden; Senator Evan Bayh, originally a big Hillary Clinton supporter; and Kansas Governor Katheleen Sebelius.

"Evan Bayh is not the kind of person to make mistakes," says Rothenberg, adding, "Kathleen Sebelius might evoke such a scream of anger from Hillary Clinton supporters that a Sebelius pick wouldn't be worth it if you're just going for a woman."

As for Hillary Clinton, the spotlight on her has diminished.

Campaign aides are keeping the process and the names under wraps, but it's clear that the buzz is escalating.