Jim Johnson, the head of his vice-presidential search, and Mary Beth Cahill, his campaign manager, were seen leaving his townhouse in Georgetown on Wednesday night.

As Senator John Kerry intensified his vice-presidential search, Mr. Gephardt was among the first invited to an out-of-the-way Capitol office for what amounted to a job interview for the opening Mr. Kerry is trying to fill.

As he fended off the daily deluge of questions on his campaign plane about his vice-presidential search, Mr. Bush turned to his younger brother Jeb, who was standing at his side.

By choosing Mr. Cheney, a respected party elder who had been running Mr. Bush's vice-presidential search, Mr. Bush made a risk-free and respectable choice that was cheered by many party stalwarts.

Andersen quotes her as blurting out in the summer of 2000, when Cheney was in Texas overseeing the vice-presidential search.

Warren Christopher, the former secretary of state, who conducted the vice-presidential searches for Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gore, said in an interview earlier this summer that the Clinton choice put a new emphasis on the personal relationship between the candidates.

Mr. Bush spoke of his vice-presidential search as he stood beside Colin L. Powell, the retired general and Republican dream candidate who refuses to seek elective office.