"We just completed this arduous process," Obama said referring to the long-drawn contest for presidential nomination.
NEW YORK: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said he is in no hurry to pick a vice presidential candidate, saying "everybody needs to settle down" and let the vetting process run its course.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, he said it was not in his best interest -- or in the interest of former rival Sen Hillary Clinton -- to make a hasty decision about who his running mate will be.
"We just completed this arduous process," Obama said referring to the long-drawn contest for presidential nomination.
"It's only been two days, and I think it's not just in my interest and Sen Clinton's interest, but in the Democratic Party's interest and the country's interest to make sure I make this decision well," he said.
Calling his choice of running mate as "the most important decision" he will make before he is elected president, Obama said he would "be deliberate and systematic about it, because this will be my final counselor when I am making decisions in the White House, and I want to make sure I get it right."
Obama also said he would not respond to pressure while deciding on his running mate, in an apparent reference to the clamour among Clinton supporters for a VP ticket to the New York senator.
"We have a committee that's made up of wonderful people. They are going to go through the procedure and vet and get recommendations. I will meet a range of a people, and I will ultimately make a decision," he said.
"I am a big believer in making decisions well, not making them fast and not responding to pressure," he added.
Many of Clinton supporters have publicly called on Obama to put Clinton on the ticket to help unify the party since he captured the nomination Tuesday night. But Obama has constituted a three-person committee led by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F Kennedy, to search possible candidates for the post.
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign said the New York senator is not actively campaigning for the job but would accept it if it were offered.
A senior adviser to the campaign added, "She doesn't think it's going."
"While Sen Clinton has made clear throughout this process that she will do whatever she can to elect a Democrat to the White House, she is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her. The choice here is Sen Obama's and his alone," campaign spokesman Phil Singer told CNN.
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