Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, amid a fury of speculation about whom he will tap as his running mate, stoked that fire Tuesday by announcing his support for Sen. Joseph Biden's (D-Del.) call for $1 billion in aid to Georgia.
Obama, speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) national convention in Orlando, Fla., responded to his Republican rival's attacks at the same venue and announced that he is joining Biden in calling for funds for reconstruction assistance in Georgia following recent Russian aggression.
Biden has emerged as the favorite for the No. 2 spot lately, mainly due to the crisis in Georgia and the senator's extensive foreign policy experience. Biden visited Georgia over the weekend at the invitation of its president.
But Obama used most of his remarks to the VFW to address rival John McCain's intense criticisms of him, made when the Arizona senator addressed the gathering on Monday.
Obama said he will refuse to question McCain's patriotism, but he did question the former prisoner of war's judgment on Iraq, noting that McCain had argued in the run-up to the Iraq war that American soldiers would be greeted as liberators and that the country's oil profits would pay for the rebuilding.
"For the good of our country, I wish he had been right, and I had been wrong," Obama said. "But that's not what history shows."
The political world continues to wait for Obama to announce his running mate. The Democratic National Convention begins Monday, August 25th, and reports are circulating that an announcement could come as early as Wednesday morning. However, the Obama campaign released the Illinois senator's public schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday with little to indicate a possible VP announcement.
Also considered to be on Obama's short-list are Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.
