Obama's vice presidential search team has floated the name of a former member of President Bush's first-term cabinet, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, as Obama's running mate. Obama veep team floats GOP name

Barack Obama's vice presidential search team has floated the name of a member of President Bush's first-term Cabinet, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, as Obama's running mate.

The search committee, now led by Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder, raised Veneman's name — among others — in discussions with members of Congress, said two Democrats familiar with the conversations.


The mention of Veneman's name surprised Democratic lawmakers. The low-profile Republican was close to food and agriculture industries but clashed with farm-state Democrats and environmentalists during her tenure, which lasted from 2001 to 2004.

But Veneman, 59, has a biography that could be suited to Obama's unifying message. A Republican raised on a California peach farm, she rose to become the nation’s first female agriculture secretary. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was treated successfully. Today she serves as executive director of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF.

The selection of a Republican could bolster Obama's unifying message, a Capitol Hill Democrat familiar with the discussion said.

"You select a strong independent woman who appeals to Republicans and independents, and so that's hard to beat," the Hill source said, explaining the logic of the possible choice. "Choosing someone like [Veneman] doesn't hurt you with the Democrats. It just doesn't hurt you. But it helps you with Independents and Republicans."

Veneman's is one of about a dozen names suggested by vetters in a round of meetings with members of the House and Senate within the last few weeks. Veneman's name, unlike the others, has not been previously reported.

Choosing Veneman would be a way to "show that he can get things done without all the partisanship," said the Democrat familiar with the discussions. "Her appeal would be nonideological. It would be, 'I'm just here to get the work done.' She's not a hot-button conservative."

Other Republicans mentioned as potential Obama running mates include Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, who accompanied him to Iraq, and retired Marine Gen. James Jones.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton declined to comment on any aspect of the vice presidential selection process.

UNICEF spokeswoman Kate Donovan declined to comment on the news that Veneman's name had been mentioned as a prospective running mate to Obama. She said Veneman is traveling in Africa and could not be reached.

Though Veneman's biography and Republican affiliation make her a plausible, if surprising, candidate to be Obama's running mate, the mention of her name was met with incredulity on Capitol Hill.

"Are you serious?" one lawmaker asked vetters when Veneman's name came up, a second source familiar with the conversations said.

The surprise stems from the fact that, while Veneman was seen as an experienced leader for her department, she often clashed with Democrats on a central battle front of the Bush years: regulation. Veneman was criticized by some Democrats and environmentalists, and praised by agriculture and food interests, for lightly regulating the industries and for encouraging trade and biotechnology during her tenure.

When she resigned, the American Meat Institute praised her "vision and commitment."

She also clashed with Democrats — including then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who is now an Obama confidant — over subsidies for small farmers, which they sought to expand.

In the best-known incident of her tenure, she led the administration's response to cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis, known as mad cow disease. The epidemic was contained, but the relatively light U.S. testing regime has led to continuing barriers for American beef exports.

At UNICEF, Veneman has traveled widely, focusing on extending children's health services in the developing world.