Kerry VP Decision Expected in Days

As Sen. John F. Kerry spent Monday picnicking with several hundred supporters at his wife’s suburban Pittsburgh estate, there were mounting expectations that he would name his running mate as early as today.

While Kerry insisted that he had not made a decision, longtime advisors and Democratic Party officials said they anticipated that the Massachusetts senator would identify his choice this week -- perhaps as early as this morning, when he is scheduled to hold a rally in downtown Pittsburgh.

Kerry himself plugged the rally at the end of an afternoon barbecue on a grassy expanse at Rosemont, the 88-acre farm owned by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Standing on a hay bale, in front of a backdrop of rolling blue-green hills, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee asked the crowd of about 400 -- largely elected officials and supporters from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia -- to join him the next day at Pittsburgh’s Market Square.

“At 9 o’clock tomorrow, we’re going to have some fun, and then we’ll head out to the Midwest again and back on the trail,” Kerry said.

But even close aides acknowledged that they did not know whether Kerry had decided on a running mate and, if so, who it was and when he planned to announce the name.

He has fiercely guarded the selection process, limiting consultations to Jim Johnson, who heads the search process; his campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill; and a few other intimates.

“I just was on a conference call with people who’ve known Kerry for 20 years, and I don’t think any of them knew,” one longtime advisor said. “But my inclination is that it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.”

Added Democratic New York Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, an advisor to the campaign: “All indications are that it’s going to happen tomorrow. But most of the people in the campaign, with the possible exception of three, are all playing the guessing game.”

Kerry’s aides have formally vetted at least three names: North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Vilsack campaigned with the senator in Iowa on Sunday. Despite their proximity, the two men had little public interaction.

On Thursday, according to a party official who asked not to be named, Edwards interrupted a family vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida to meet with Kerry at the Georgetown home of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Edwards was Kerry’s strongest opponent in the Democratic primaries.

On Monday, Kerry continued to insist he had not yet selected anyone to join the ticket.

“I’ll just tell you that I’ve made no decision at this point in time, and I’m going to continue to keep it a private and personal process until I announce it publicly,” he told an ABC television affiliate in Pittsburgh.

A few minutes later, he told a Fox affiliate: “I have communicated to nobody what any decision is. I reserve that right to make it on my timing, and I will.”

When a reporter for the NBC affiliate asked about her husband’s choice, Teresa Heinz Kerry joked, “Well, it depends on the time of day.” She then added: “You’ll know pretty soon, you’ll know pretty soon.”

Kerry’s insistence that he had not made his pick did not quell speculation. Since Friday, when Kerry said that subscribers to his website would be the first to receive the news in an e-mail, more than 150,000 new people have registered to receive campaign announcements, adding to the 1 million who had already subscribed.

Meanwhile, the ranks of reporters traveling with the candidate swelled to more than 50 on Monday, forcing the campaign to charter a second plane.

And President Bush’s reelection campaign sent out a memo to reporters saying that any boost in the polls that Kerry would get after his announcement would follow historical trends and should not be read as a sign of strength against the incumbent.

During the barbecue, speculation about the announcement mingled with the music of a six-piece brass band as guests munched on hamburgers and thick brownies.

Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel said he thought Kerry would name his running mate this week. The announcement, combined with the Democratic National Convention at the end of the month, will allow Kerry to “own July,” said Hoeffel, who is running against Republican incumbent Arlen Specter for a U.S. Senate seat.

There is no need for Kerry to make some “blockbuster choice to unify and excite the party,” Hoeffel added.

“He’s already done that,” Hoeffel said. “He’s expressed the desire to have somebody he’s comfortable with, and I think that’s what he should do.”

Kerry’s schedule this week would lend itself to a tour with a running mate. He is planning to campaign in key battleground states -- Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin -- on a three-day swing with the theme “Restoring Responsible Leadership.”

Thursday night is a gala fundraiser at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall -- a concert featuring the Dave Matthews Band, Jon Bon Jovi and others. One Democratic Party official who did not want to be identified said that Kerry and his running mate were expected to appear together.

Aides said they could instantly turn the week into a tour for Kerry and his choice for vice president.

A campaign manager for the running mate has already been selected, and Secret Service protection has been arranged.

Some of Kerry’s top staff said that, with the planning for the announcement consuming the campaign, they hoped the candidate would make his pick soon.

“It is a big distraction,” said one senior aide who did not want to be identified. “We’re ready to do it, so it would be better to just get it done, rather than spending the week refining the plan.”

While the senator remained enigmatic Monday about his choice, his mood the last few days indicated that he was pleased with the state of his campaign. After barnstorming the Midwest on a three-day bus tour that drew thousands, Kerry was in jovial spirits late Sunday as his plane flew from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Pittsburgh.

He invited reporters to join him in his private cabin to watch “Field of Dreams” -- having visited the farm where the movie was filmed earlier in the day -- and exclaimed how much he had enjoyed the weekend.

“I’m ready to get back on the trail,” he said, imitating the sound of a throttle engaging.

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Times staff writer Ronald Brownstein in Washington contributed to this report.