News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texas Delegates Await Obama's Veep Choice

By Shelley Kofler

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-747997.mp3

Dallas – Many Texans, like other Americans, have signed up for the Obama text message that will announce the Democrat's choice of a running mate. North Texas delegates heading for the national convention in Denver have some favorite contenders. KERA's Shelley Kofler talked with several who will be checking in with KERA from the convention next week.

Dallas lawyer and former appellate judge Barbara Rosenberg worked her heart out for Hillary Clinton. And as she packs her bags to play a delegate's role in Denver, she still holds a distant hope that Barack Obama will put Clinton on the ticket.

Rosenberg: I think it would be good for the party and his campaign to have Hillary Clinton as his Vice Presidential choice. Would she be able to function as number two? I think she would. She has functioned perfectly in the Senate. She hasn't tried to take all the glory. She has worked across party lines. She is certainly the kind of person I would want at my back.

Liz Cedillo-Pereira, a Dallas immigration attorney, is an Obama delegate who also thinks Obama's toughest competitor should be on the ticket. But since Clinton is apparently not on the short list, Pereira is rooting for Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, who is.

Cedillo-Pereira: I think he's very eloquent. He spoke at the Democratic convention here in Texas. He spoke in Spanish and in English and that was impressive. As a Latina who's concerned with issues related to the Hispanic community, I think he would have wide appeal. And he just seems to have done a really good job as Governor.

Commercial Real Estate Consultant LeVar Thomas of Dallas has his eye on another former Presidential candidate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden.

Thomas: He's well seasoned. He's great at debates. He is definitely an attack dog. I think he balances Senator Obama quite well.

SMU political science professor Cal Jillson agrees with that and thinks picking Biden would lessen a big Obama negative.

Jillson: If he picks Biden, I think a lot of people will relax because Biden has been in the Senate with a national security focus since 1972. That will fill in a gap in Barack Obama's credentials. If he picks someone else, I think people will wonder.

Obama will end the speculation sometime before noon Saturday, when he's scheduled to appear in Illinois with his running mate. In the meantime, Texas supporters are among those constantly checking their cell phones, waiting for the text message that will take the big secret public.

Next week, these delegates and others will join KERA coverage to provide an insider's view of what the Texas delegation is experiencing in Denver