Richardson may still be in the veepstakes

There’s speculation today that Gov. Bill Richardson hasn’t been added to the list of speakers at the Democrats’ presidential nominating convention because he’s among a handful of people still being considered for the vice-presidential spot on the ticket.

Then again, maybe convention organizers just haven’t figured out when to put him on the program.

As a former presidential candidate and the most high-profile Hispanic Democrat in the nation, many argue that Richardson is an obvious convention speaker. But he’s still not on the program for the convention being held in Denver from Aug. 25-28.

The Denver Post states in an article reporting on a list of speakers announced today that Richardson’s absence from the list means he is “presumably still in the veepstakes” along with others including Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn.

On the other hand, the Washington Post is reporting that convention organizers say the list of speakers is not complete and Richardson “is likely to make an appearance.”

Several news outlets are reporting that Barack Obama will likely announce his running mate next week. In the meantime, his campaign has remained tight-lipped about the situation.

Richardson also isn’t going to talk about the situation, spokesman Pahl Shipley said.

“We have no comment on anything related to the VP search,” he said.

Talk of Richardson as a possible Obama running mate had died down until recently, when the Denver Post urged Obama to pick New Mexico’s governor and other chatter about Richardson increased.

Update, 5:05 p.m.

Shortly after I posted this article, Democrats released the list of speakers for the night that the vice-presidential candidate is scheduled to speak — and they include Bayh, Biden and Richardson. As The Hill reports, that raises more questions than it answers. Any or all of the three could still be under consideration for the VP spot on the ticket. Or they might all have been cut from the list of potential Obama running mates. Time will tell.

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