McCain's A-list barbeque fires election gossip

Feverish speculation was mounting last night over who Republican presidential nominee John McCain might choose to be his running mate in his campaign to win the White House.

McCain was hosting a series of high-level guests over the weekend at his ranch in Sedona, Arizona, several of whom are potential vice-presidential choices. The leak of details of the guest list was enough to have America's political classes speculating as to whether McCain was running job interviews.

Campaign officials played down the importance of a weekend barbecue with some of the top movers and shakers of the party. 'It is a purely social weekend with friends,' said a McCain spokeswoman. But such comments did little to dampen down some frantic reading of the political tea leaves as to whom McCain might pick.

Among the guests were some obvious choices. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who was McCain's main opponent in the nomination contest, was attending. He performed well on the campaign trail and is seen by Republican operatives as a thoroughly vetted and safe pair of hands. Another former opponent, pastor and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, was also present. Huckabee is highly popular with the religious right, which has historically had a difficult relationship with McCain.

Other guests looked like they might be on the invite list for having backed McCain at crucial times in the past, or because they brought the promise of securing a battle ground state in November. Florida's governor Charlie Crist combined both qualities: he would be vital in securing Florida and his support for McCain in that state helped him win the nomination. The same could be said of Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

However, perhaps the most intriguing guest at McCain's ranch is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. Jindal is Indian-American and picking a member of an ethnic minority in the same year that Democrats are almost certain to choose Senator Barack Obama as McCain's rival would be a clever political tactic.

In fact, the guest list as a whole pointed out the clear themes that McCain and his team are looking for in a running mate. They must be young - nearly all those invited are considerably younger than McCain - and have an appeal to social conservatives. Another oft-touted name in Washington circles - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - was off the guest list, perhaps finally scotching rumours that Rice would continue her career in active politics.

McCain's barbecue also served to point out the difference between the Republican and Democratic races. Obama has several staffers and aides researching potential running mates, but he remains bogged down in campaigning against Senator Hillary Clinton, despite his almost certain victory. In fact many top Democrats have spoken openly about the need for a 'unity ticket' after the contest finally ends in early June so the party can heal itself after an increasingly bitter civil war. That ticket - with Clinton becoming Obama's Vice-President - looked a little less likely yesterday as fallout continued from Clinton's remarks over the assassination of Robert F Kennedy in 1968. In a talk with a South Dakota newspaper Clinton cited the example of Kennedy's murder as one of the reasons she was still staying in. That prompted outrage and a huge backlash in a political environment deeply sensitive to possible security threats against the likely first ever black presidential nominee. The possibility of Obama being assassinated is a common topic among strategists, journalists and many Democrat voters but it is rarely voiced in public.

Clinton's comments seemed to break several weeks of apparent truce between the warring Democrat camps. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the remarks 'had no place in this campaign'.

However, Clinton and her staff rushed to apologise, saying she was just citing a historical anecdote and was sorry for any offence. A statement by Robert Kennedy Jnr, RFK's son and a Clinton supporter, also aimed to pour water on the political fire. 'I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offence,' he said.