Republican strategist Karl Rove phoned Joseph Lieberman late last week and urged him to withdraw his name from presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s “short list” of potential running mates.
Lieberman spurned the request, sources familiar with the conversation told Politico.
The independent Democrat from Connecticut “laughed at the suggestion and certainly did not call [McCain] on it,” said one source.
Rove sought to push Lieberman aside presumably because he strongly favors Mitt Romney as the vice presidential candidate.
“Rove is pushing Romney so aggressively, some folks are beginning to wonder what’s going on,” a GOP strategist told Politico.
Rove, President Bush’s former top campaign adviser, has no official role in McCain’s campaign, but he has been offering informal advice and touting Romney in his position as a Fox News analyst.
Rove said on “Fox News Sunday” as far back as June: “Romney is already vetted by the media, has strong executive experience both in business and in government, has an interesting story to tell with saving the U.S. Olympics, and also helps McCain deal with the economy.”
McCain is scheduled to announce his running mate at a Friday rally in Ohio.
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