May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Republican John McCain insists his vice presidential search is ``still in initial stages'' and that he looking at ``a large number'' of potential running mates.

The early betting among Republicans still has Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Ohio congressman and Bush administration budget director Rob Portman and onetime rival candidate Mitt Romney near the top of the list.

``There's still no update,'' longtime McCain confidante Mark Salter said when asked this week whether the list has been whittled down. The usually talkative McCain is keeping ``a cone of silence'' on the selection process, Salter said.

Pawlenty, Portman and Romney would be safe choices, even if they don't excite party activists. Pawlenty would bring executive experience, which McCain lacks, and little else politically. While Portman has the respect of Democrats, who almost certainly will control Congress, he's an unlikely choice for the attack role most vice president's play. Romney would shore up the ticket's economic expertise, though the rancor of his primary battle with McCain may make him a tough fit.

Some Republicans close to McCain say a surprise is possible. Most often mentioned in that category is Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent. Lieberman endorsed McCain and the two men are close. The question is the reaction of Republican social conservatives; Lieberman is a consistent supporter of abortion rights and gay rights.

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Barack Obama is pivoting to the general election campaign and emphasizing his differences with McCain on economics, giving a preview of what's to come in the fall.

The economy is the ``ever-changing beast,'' said Jen Psaki, the Illinois senator's campaign spokeswoman.

Hillary Clinton doesn't come up in Obama's stump speeches much anymore, and the war in Iraq is secondary. Instead, it's mostly McCain and President George W. Bush's economic policies.

The economy works in Obama's favor at least among one group who have been a hard sell for him in the primaries, according to the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. Female voters picked Obama over McCain 27 percent to 20 percent on the question of who would be best at dealing with the economy. (Clinton is still the favorite among women, with 35 percent saying she'd do better on economic issues.)

On the flip side, while lower income Americans -- those with household income of $40,000 or less annually -- ranked Obama as better on the economy than McCain, the two are tied among households with income between $40,000 and $60,000.

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More Indiana and North Carolina residents cast Democratic ballots in Tuesday's presidential primaries than voted for Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 general election in those two states. Votes for Obama and Clinton exceeded Kerry's totals, the first time that's happened in the drawn-out race. (Democratic turnout in Texas, where John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd were still on the ballot, also beat Kerry's vote.)

The bump over Kerry's results was about 306,000 in Indiana and a more modest 38,000 in North Carolina. The numbers don't necessarily indicate a change of political winds in the two Republican strongholds, where the Democratic candidate will still be the underdog.

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The good news for Hillary Clinton is that she has more than twice as many endorsements from former Democratic Cabinet secretaries as Obama. The not-so-encouraging news is that they all come from her husband's administration.

Clinton administration secretaries who've gone with Obama are: William Daley and Norman Mineta, both from commerce, Robert Reich, labor, and Bill Richardson and Federico Pena, who served as energy secretaries.

Campaigning for Clinton are former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor.

The other Clinton Cabinet alums backing the former first lady are: former Veterans Affairs Secretary Togo D. West Jr., Education Secretary Richard W. Riley, Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary, Housing and Urban Development Secretaries Andrew M. Cuomo and Henry G. Cisneros, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Defense Secretary William J. Perry, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher, and Attorney General Janet Reno.

Several are sitting on the sidelines, including William Cohen, a Republican who served as defense chief, and Lawrence Summers, who was at treasury. Mike Espy, former agriculture secretary, has donated to both campaigns. He gave $2,300 to Obama and $1,000 to Clinton.

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Mazel Tov: Obama is working to bolster his pro-Israel credentials. This month the magazine Moment -- an upscale periodical about Jewish politics, culture and religion co- founded by Elie Wiesel -- profiles Tony Lake, Obama's foreign policy adviser and how he converted to Judaism.

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McCain finally took on Secret Service protection. One thing that comes with security is a code name. McCain, whose campaign rose from the ashes, is ``Phoenix.'' Wife Cindy McCain is known by ``Parasol.''

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Amid the seemingly endless Democratic primary campaign, math can get fuzzy, especially for exhausted candidates.

``I've now been in 57 states,'' Obama told a crowd in Beaverton, Oregon, on Friday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in Columbia, South Carolina, at echen32@bloomberg.net; Joe Sobczyk in Washington at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 9, 2008 17:57 EDT