Law Blog Lawyer of the Day: O’Melveny’s A.B. Culvahouse

[WSJ_law_blog]

As most Campaign ‘08 gadflies are aware, there was some serious ado over Senator Barack Obama’s VP selection committee. Two weeks ago, former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson, one of the original three appointed to conduct Obama’s VP search, tapped out after the WSJ reported on favorable loans he received from Countrywide Financial.

Meanwhile, Senator John McCain appears to be keeping his veep search under tighter wraps. However, one tidbit has leaked out that’s of special interest to us here at the Law Blog: that the chair of O’Melveny & Myers, Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., is playing a leading role in the search. Click here for an AP profile on Culvahouse.

A former White House counsel to President Reagan, the 59 year-old Culvahouse, reports the AP, has a knack for working discreetly (he goes by “A.B.”), not to mention thirty years of experience in vetting candidates for government jobs — including Robert Bork and Anthony Kennedy for the Supreme Court, and Alan Greenspan for Fed chairman.

McCain aides didn’t confirm Culvahouse’s position. But, writes the AP, “it’s an open secret in GOP circles that while McCain and campaign manager Rick Davis are running the show, Culvahouse is closely involved the process.”

According to the AP, McCain has turned to Culvahouse in recent weeks as he sorts through a list of some 20 or more potential veeps. Who’s on that list of 20+? Over Memorial Day weekend, McCain invited former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to his Arizona estate. McCain aides insist, however, that it was merely a social affair.

Photo: O’Melveny & Myers’s Web site