Hillary Clinton agrees to Denver keynote: Sign she's not running mate

BY DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 9:52 AM

Hillary Clinton has agreed to speak on Day 2 of the Democratic convention to commemorate the 88th anniversary of women's right to vote - a move seen by delegates as another sign she won't be on Barack Obama's ticket, the Daily News learned.

A top Obama aide told party leaders in a conference call last night that Clinton has accepted the offer to be the featured prime-time Tuesday night speaker, a high-profile slot that some of Clinton's own people have floated in recent days.

Aug. 26 is the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920.

That historical tidbit was shared by Obama aide Jennifer Koch, one of Obama's deputy political directors for the Northeast, in a conference call last night night with a group of Massachusetts delegates, among them DNC Rules Committee co-chair James Roosevelt.

Koch added that Obama's vice presidential nominee - whomever that turns out to be - will likely speak Monday and Wednesday evening as part of the traditional build-up to Obama accepting the nomination on Thursday night.

Some of those on the conference call concluded Clinton was not under serious consideration for vice president, and would instead be filling a more limited - albeit historically charged - role at the Denver convention.

"She said Hillary Clinton has accepted the role of speaking on the passage of the 19th Amendment," said Gus Bickford, a DNC member and superdelegate from Massachusetts who was on the call. "It really does send the signal that Hillary will not be the vice president."

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, had no immediate comment on when or in what context Clinton might be addressing the convention, in keeping with a general policy on the planned Denver pow-wow. "We are not talking about any convention decisions," he told The News.

The jockeying comes as Obama and his team are said to be seriously vetting several potential vice-presidential picks, among them Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Evan Bayh of Indiana. All three men have been placed under the political microscope by Obama aides in a way that Clinton has not, insiders say.

Giving Clinton a prominent, prime-time speaking role - on a topic freighted with significance for Clinton, the first woman to almost win a presidential nomination - is a fitting consolation prize that should help to heal remaining tensions within the party, some said.

"For me, Barack Obama is the nominee and we all have to get together, because this is not going to be an easy election," said Bickford, a longtime Clinton supporter. "Having her be the keynote on one night is enough for me."