Gore will name running mate August 8

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, North Carolina (CNN) -- Vice President Al Gore will name a running mate for his Democratic presidential campaign August 8 and won't allow the process to become a "carnival," his spokesman announced Saturday.

The announcement will come in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Gore campaign headquarters, Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said. He said Gore has not yet settled on a running mate. The date is six days before the Democratic National Convention begins in Los Angeles.

Gore has been vacationing on the North Carolina coast this weekend, considering his choice of a running mate during the break. Gore and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, the chief of his vice presidential search effort, confer regularly on candidates, but Lehane said the selection process will occur "in sharp contrast to the carnival-like atmosphere" surrounding Republican candidate George W. Bush's vice presidential deliberations.

Bush named former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney as his vice presidential pick. Gore aides had criticized the GOP's selection process, saying it diverted attention from serious issues, and Lehane said Gore will not allow that to happen as he ponders his options.

Prominent Democrats have criticized Bush's choice of Cheney, focusing their attacks on his conservative record while representing Wyoming in Congress. Lehane assured reporters Saturday that Gore won't select "someone who thinks Nelson Mandela spent too little time in prison" -- a reference to Cheney's vote against a 1986 resolution that called for the release of Mandela, a one-time political prisioner, from a South African prison.

Potential running mates thought to be on Gore's list include Sens. Bob Graham of Florida, John Kerry of Massachusetts, John Edwards of North Carolina, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Dick Durbin of Illinois, as well as former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine.

Gore said last Thursday he intends to "significantly" reduce his list of potential vice presidential candidates while on vacation. He described the list of finalists as "a short list," with fewer than 10 names on it. But he said he was reluctant to interrupt a rare family holiday, and won't meet with any candidates until the break is over.