THE RACE:
Cheney and Biden pitch in campaigning

[July 13, 2012]  WILSON, Wyo. (AP) -- It was vice president's day on the campaign trail.

Mitt Romney made a pilgrimage to former Vice President Dick Cheney's Wyoming home to raise cash.

It was the latest in a series of big-ticket fundraisers that have allowed the Republican challenger to blow past President Barack Obama in soliciting contributions over the past two months.

Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, addressed the NAACP annual convention in Houston, a day after Romney spoke and drew several outbursts of boos.

There were no boos for Biden. Noting that he was a "lifetime member" of the nation's premier civil rights group, Biden said, "It's good to be home."

"I think Mitt Romney is a fine family man, driven by what he believes, but the differences are so basic about how we view the future of America," Biden said.

Obama himself addressed the NAACP in a taped video message, saying "I stand on your shoulders" in seeking a second term.

Perhaps while at Cheney's place, Romney will also seek some private advice on picking his own running mate. Cheney, after all, headed former President George W. Bush's vice presidential search.

Then again, maybe Romney won't. We know how Cheney's search turned out. He got the job himself.

Romney is keeping his selection process tightly under wraps. An announcement could come at any point up to the GOP convention in late August.

Cheney, who had a heart transplant in March, is still lionized by conservatives, but reviled by Democrats and viewed unfavorably by many independents.

Romney has walked a fine line so far, not mentioning either Bush or Cheney by name while welcoming their support. Obama, meanwhile, keeps telling audiences a Romney victory would mean a return to failed Bush-Cheney policies.

Obama campaigns the next two days in Virginia, a top battleground he won in 2008.

[Associated Press; By TOM RAUM]

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