Today on the presidential campaign trail

[Ron Burgundy]

IN THE HEADLINES

Obama holding back name of running mate, says challenging him a key quality for his choice ... Young evangelical accepts, then declines, invitation to say prayer at Democratic convention

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Obama not ready to name running mate just yet

WASHINGTON (AP) Â? Presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday the running mate he has chosen Â? but has not yet announced Â? had to meet three standards to join the Democratic ticket: Prepared to be president, able to help him govern and willing to challenge his thinking.

Those criteria did little to narrow the guessing game as Obama prepared for a massive rally in Illinois on Saturday to present his No. 2 to the nation and undertake a pre-convention tour of battleground states. He planned to disclose his choice through text messages to supporters, perhaps as early as Friday.

"Obviously, the most important question is: Is this person ready to be president?" Obama said in an interview aired Friday on "The Early Show" on CBS. Second, he said, was: "Can this person help me govern? Are they going to be an effective partner in creating the kind of economic opportunity here at home and guiding us through some dangerous waters internationally?"

And, he added: "I want somebody who is going to be able to challenge my thinking and not simply be a 'yes person' when it comes to policymaking.

On the Republican side, several GOP officials said Friday that John McCain had not settled on a running mate Â? nor offered the job to anyone Â? although former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty were under serious consideration. It's likely McCain will wait to see who Obama selects before picking his running mate.

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Young evangelical backs out of convention prayer

DENVER (AP) Â? It was a coup for Democrats: An emerging young evangelical voice, a registered Republican no less, accepted their invitation to deliver a prayer at next week's Democratic National Convention.

But Cameron Strang, the 32-year-old editor of Relevant Magazine, had second thoughts and pulled out of delivering the benediction on the convention's first night, Monday. Citing fears that his bridge-building gesture would be wrongly construed as an endorsement, Strang said he instead hopes to take a lower-profile role, participating in a convention caucus meeting on religion later in the week.

"Through Relevant, I reach a demographic that has strong faith, morals and passion, but disagreements politically," Strang wrote on his blog. "It wouldn't be wise for me to be seen as picking a political side when I've consistently said both sides are right in some areas and wrong in some areas."

Little known to outsiders, the Strang name carries weight with evangelicals, especially in the fast-growing charismatic and Pentecostal branches. Cameron's father, Steven, who like his son is based in the Orlando, Fla., area, founded a magazine, Charisma, that spawned a publishing empire. The elder Strang has endorsed Republican Sen. John McCain.

In his blog post, Strang wrote that he initially accepted the benediction invitation, in part, so he could pray in a forum where faith isn't typically emphasized.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama has no public schedule.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain has public schedule.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"You know, there are some things that even I don't know. And what Michelle is going to wear is a tightly held secret, more tightly held than who my vice presidential choice is going to be." Â? Democrat Barack Obama, speaking on CBS' "The Early Show" about what his wife, Michelle, will be wearing on Monday at the convention.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who suspended her race for the Democratic nomination in June, slightly reduced her campaign debt, according to documents recently submitted to the Federal Election Commission. She cut it from $25.2 million at the end of June to $23.9 million at the end of July.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.

source: AP - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080822/ap_on_el_pr/2008_race_rundown [link]

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