Sen. Barack Obama would be making "the worst mistake" if he chooses Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate – said the former U.S. President Jimmy Carter yesterday.

In an interview published Wednesday, in the Britain's The Guardian newspaper, Mr. Carter said that putting Clinton on the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential nominee would just accumulate the negative aspects of both candidates.  

The former U.S. President asserted that he would have been against Obama being the vice presidential nominee, had Clinton clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.

According to Mr. Carter, who endorsed Obama for president on Tuesday, the ticket should include someone who could compensate for Obama's youthfulness and lack of long experience in military and international affairs – the former chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Sam Nunn of Georgia, would be the right pick for the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket.

But, Mr. Carter said, other senior Democrats also have credentials similar to Nunn's. Clinton, who hasn’t yet officially ended her presidential race, has been pressed by supporters to be open to serving as Obama's vice presidential running mate.