Possible Obama VP picks coy on their prospects

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Former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh appeared flattered that their names were being bandied about in the media as vice presidential contenders.

But neither would comment on whether they had been contacted by the Obama campaign about the job.

"It's an honour, but I have no expectations of being offered any office. I am not in any way sitting on the edge of a chair, waiting to go back into government," Nunn told reporters.

"Certainly I would to talk to Sen. Obama if he wanted to talk about it," he added. "But I think the chances of an offer are pretty slim and I would have to do a lot of thinking ... about what was really the best role for me."

Bayh said he was enjoying his current job as a senator and added, "I think any questions about the vice presidential thing are understandable and it's good for my ego but I should probably let Sen. Obama and his campaign address those kinds of questions."

Nunn and Bayh are both respected voices on national security issues. Obama, a 46-year-old first-term Illinois senator, is trying to counter criticism from John McCain, his Republican rival in the November election, that he lacks the foreign policy seasoning to serve as commander-in-chief.

The two Democrats were part of a panel discussion with Obama at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, on the threats posed by nuclear and biological weapons and potential cyber attacks.

Obama said President George W. Bush's preoccupation with Iraq meant those issues had been neglected for the past eight years.

"It's time to break out of Washington's conventional thinking that has failed to keep pace with unconventional threats," he said.

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