Ohio Gov. Strickland Rules Out VP

Sen. Barack Obama's vice-presidential short list grew smaller by one Tuesday, when Ohio Governor Ted Strickland outright refused the notion that we would accept a spot as the Vice Presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket.

During an interview with National Public Radio, when asked if he would share a spot on the ticket with Obama, he said, “Absolutely not. If drafted I will not run, nominated I will not accept, and if elected I will not serve. So, I don’t know how more crystal clear I can be.”

He added: “That does not mean that I am any less committed to helping Barack Obama become the next president.”

This statement comes as Obama’s VP search team meets with leading Democrats on Capitol Hill to discuss prospects.

Strickland has been on many pundits' veep lists (including mine), because he is the popular governor of a battleground state, he has tons of experience, and he was a Methodist minister.

He was a strong supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primaries and was a big factor in her victory in the state. This could have been an asset to Obama in an attempt to unify the party and not pick someone who has backed him all along, like Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Strickland has repeatedly suggested Clinton as a running-mate for Obama.

Now that Strickland has essentially ruled himself out, I will remove him from my list of Obama's possible running-mates. Check that list for more changes are the veep search continues.