US:BARACK OBAMA has convened a three-person team, including Caroline Kennedy, to start the search for a vice-presidential running mate as Hillary Clinton held off from conceding defeat in the Democratic nomination race.
A day after Mr Obama was confirmed as the first African-American to represent either party in a US presidential election, he spoke briefly with Mrs Clinton but they did not discuss her future plans.
"I just spoke to her today, and we're going to be having a conversation in coming weeks. And I'm very confident how unified the Democratic Party is going to be to win in November," Mr Obama said.
Mrs Clinton has authorised some of her supporters to promote her as a vice-presidential candidate, although she has not publicly expressed an interest in the post.
Some of her allies fear, however, that she may be overplaying her hand by appearing to bargain with Mr Obama over a place on the ticket, and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell yesterday expressed doubts about her prospects.
"Generally a lot of politicians don't like to put somebody like that on the ticket. You know rule one for the vice-president is, make sure you never upstage the president, right? Hillary Clinton in some ways couldn't help but upstage, even if she was trying not to," he said.
"You don't bargain with the presidential nominee. Even if you're Hillary Clinton and you have 18 million votes, you don't bargain."
In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) yesterday, Mrs Clinton came close to acknowledging that Mr Obama would be her party's nominee, without explicitly conceding.
"I know Senator Obama understands what is at stake here," she told the pro-Israel group. "Let me be very clear, I know that Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel."
Earlier, Mr Obama told AIPAC that he would make the Middle East peace process an immediate priority of his presidency and ruled out negotiations with Hamas unless the group recognises Israel and abandons the use of force.
"There is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organisations," he said. "Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable.
"The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper, but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognised and defensible borders.
"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."
Mr Obama's campaign yesterday expressed interest in a proposal from Mr McCain for a series of joint, town hall meetings, but said it was too early to agree details.
Mr McCain made the proposal in a letter to Mr Obama yesterday, suggesting that the first debate should be held in New York next week.
