It's "Veep Week," says The Trail's Dan Balz, and practically every blogger has a contribution to what he calls the "orgy of speculation." Both candidates are expected to announce their VP before the end of next week.
The New York Times reported yesterday that Barack Obama "has all but settled" on his pick, even though ABC's Jake Tapper reports that the pick hasn't been informed yet. Obama's top contenders seem to be Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, former Virginia governor Tim Kaine, and the most buzzed about today, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. Many lefty bloggers are pro-Biden, but Kos says that "even if we stipulate that he has foreign policy chops, how does that make him a good veep choice? It strikes me that any pick designed to cover up a 'flaw' in Obama (i.e. 'lack of foreign policy credentials') only accentuates those flaws." Wonkette's Sara Smith adds that Biden is the only acceptable choice: "Let's review the list of people who will not be Barack Obama's running mate: Hillary Clinton, because she would poison him; Jack Reed, because he isn't interested; Tim Kaine, because of the eyebrows."
On the right, The Next Right's Patrick Ruffini calls both Biden and Kaine "lame" choices, and Jack M. at Ace of Spades asks, "Now, aside from Joe Biden himself, is there anyone that thinks that Biden brings much of anything to this ticket? Aside from hair-plugs and an over-inflated sense of self-worth, that is." But Hot Air's Allahpundit thinks we might be in for a surprise and notes that "leaking the names of Bayh, Biden, and Kaine seems odd when Obama's playing everything else so close to the vest. Almost seems like a deliberate decoy, designed to draw us away from the actual nominee so that when the announcement drops it'll go off like a nuclear blast."
Meanwhile, the Politico reported last night that John McCain will announce his VP on August 29, the day after Obama's acceptance speech (and McCain's 72nd birthday). Townhall's Amanda Carpenter says, "The timing cannot be coincidental. McCain rolling out his VP on the 29th is sure to distract the media from obsessing over his age and take some of the afterglow away from Obama's historic nomination speech."
Who will it be? While Marc Ambinder provides hints for determining a veep, at Contentions, Jennifer Rubin says we can be sure that it will be "someone McCain trusts deeply and who would be a credible commander-in-chief." The bloggers at The Corner note some of the many possibilities: Mitt Romney? Rob Portman? Rudy Giuliani? A pro-choice politician? We'll find out next week--and not by text message!
