Who is Barack Obama going to pick for VP? That’s the question of the week. Obama and Hillary Clinton had a meeting in DC late last night, so it doesn’t look like the VP speculation is going away anytime soon.

Will he choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate? Clinton has made it clear she is open to it. BUT of course, she is not seeking it. Obama, in an interview with CNN Thursday, said “Senator Clinton would be on anyone’s short list.” Well, that doesn’t really reveal too much.

So, what if he does not choose Clinton, then who? Well, how about Freshman Virginia Sen. Jim Webb. Obama held his first major public appearance since Tuesday at a rally in Virginia on Thursday, and he had some nice things to say about Webb. Referencing the upcoming battle against John McCain, Obama said:

From ABC: “Going forward I’m going to be proud to be fighting with him, alongside him,” Obama continued. “And let me tell you something, if you’re in a fight — and we’re going to be in a fight — you want Jim Webb to have your back.”

Maybe that’s a hint to an Obama-Webb ticket. Webb is a decorated Vietnam vet, who also served as Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan. He is a VP frontrunner.

On Wednesday, Sam Stein at the Huffington Post interviewed Webb and wrote, “Webb’s Audition: Blasts McCain, Assesses Obama’s Appalachia Problem.” Stein writes:

“On several key domestic and foreign policy issues, the Virginia Democrat offered persuasive defenses of Obama, in the process taking swipes at his presumed Republican counterpart.”

In a CNN interview Thursday, Obama said he is in no hurry to pick his running mate. Other possible potential VP picks are Mark Warner, Mike Bloomberg, Bill Richardson, and Kathleen Sebelious. Obama stressed the importance of his VP decision on Thursday in a CNN interview.

From CNN: “We just completed this arduous process,” Obama said. “It’s only been two days, and I think it’s not just in my interest and Sen. Clinton’s interest, but in the Democratic Party’s interest and the country’s interest to make sure I make this decision well.”
Calling his choice of running mate “the most important decision that I will make before I am president,” the senator from Illinois said he would “be deliberate and systematic about it, because this will be my final counselor when I am making decisions in the White House, and I want to make sure I get it right.”

I don’t think he will pick Hillary Clinton. But then again, I wonder if Bill Clinton was there at the meeting last night. Whether it is Webb, or any other VP frontrunner, one can expect the media VP frenzy to continue.