The Veepstakes Pot Grows

  • Share
  • Read Later
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Bob Dole's pile of potential vice presidents is growing, and the latest to be added is Oklahoma Senator Don Nickles, a man who seems to fit the bill on just about all the dream qualifications: a young but experienced, conservative anti-abortion Catholic. At 47, Nickles has a solid conservative record on both social and fiscal issues; in 1992, he served as platform committee chair at the Republican National Convention and helped defeat an effort by moderates to soften the party's anti-abortion platform plank. But Nickles' abortion stance apparently has not deterred him from reveling in Dole's interest: he said in a statement Tuesday that he was "honored" to be included among those being contacted by Dole's search committee. Nickles has long been a Dole loyalist, but one Republican source told the Associated Press that it was possible that Nickles may have been contacted as a prospective running mate merely as a courtesy. Dole has said repeatedly in the past that his own 35 years in Congress would make it difficult to fill the ticket with a House or Senate member, the AP reported. Dole is expected to take great care in choosing a vice president, and not only because he would be the oldest U.S. president if elected. Other names that have emerged as potential veeps: former South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell and five current Republican Governors, Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, Jim Edgar of Illinois, Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, George Voinovich of Ohio and John Engler of Michigan. Dole is expected to announce his decision just days before the convention, a move that aides hope will score a big boost of media coverage. -->