Clinton: VP decision is Obama's

WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., issued a statement Thursday saying presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama alone will decide on a running mate.

The statement came hours before Obama visited Clinton at her Washington home Thursday night. A senior Obama campaign official told NBC News Obama delayed his departure from Washington to meet with Clinton.

Although Clinton -- who has not formally abandoned her own presidential campaign -- did not rule out becoming Obama's running mate, a Clinton spokesman said supporters pushing for her to join the ticket were not speaking for the senator.

Obama crossed the 2,118-delegate threshold needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday.

Caroline Kennedy has joined the team charged with vetting potential running mates for Obama. Kennedy will join Jim Johnson, a veteran in the vice presidential search process, and Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said the three "talented and dedicated" people would be "managing this rigorous process."

While the trio would work closely with Obama, Burton said "ultimately this will be his decision and his alone."

Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John Kennedy, and her uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., endorsed Obama in January.