wheels up at 3:30 PM

If there was going to be an announcement, he would spend the complete day or atleast leave at night, not mid afternoon.

He goes on vacation next week.

so he'll likely announce the week of the 18th - one week before the convention.

so Bayh is still in the running.

I'm convinced Senator Clinton has been chosen as of a "long" time ago. This is being stage managed and by "Hillary night" we will know.

...the three of them are about as charismatic and exciting as a dialtone.

Just wished that I hadn't heard Roland Martin last night on CNN saying, "Without question, I've spoken with many folks at the top of the Obama Campaign, and It. Will. Not. Be. Clinton." (Bummed me out...but I'm over it.)

Sorry, but it's just the truth.

A-team=Clinton**, Clark, Biden

Dark horses=Gephardt, (Bob) Graham, (Bill) Bradley, Bloomberg

Also rans=Reed, Hagel, Tester, Dodd, Edwards (for a variety of reasons--not a bad guy in the bunch, just not A-team material this cycle)

=Obama won't pick a Rethug
*=Bloomberg's not a real Rethug. Historically, he's actually a Dem.
*=To hell with Roland Martin's comments last night! As long as she's out there on the hustings, I think she's still in the money. I mean who else is maintaining as high a profile as a surrogate as this lady?

I wouldn't mind Sebilius or Napolitano.

Screwing up my comments and turning everything bold and not printing as an asterisk, like I was hoping it would! Sorry about that.

Biden or Bayh still seem like the obvious choices.
Sturdy, dependable guys.

I prefer Biden because he's not just some boring old white guy there to balance the ticket. He's a fighter and tough guy who'll throw smart punches.

If Hillary wasn't out of the running before, then she sure as heck is after the whole "Obama played the race card" comment situation. Her staff and Bill are obviously still too upset about that whole election and to be leaking out comments about race issues and saying it's "chickens coming home to roost" is so thoroughly unproductive. You can't pick someone if you can't trust their staff or if you're sure they actively dislike you.

How much time would he need to introduce a new face. Everyone knows Biden and Clinton. They wouldn't need much introduction. Would he really announce during the Olympics? The pick must be someone who doesn't beed an introduction.

Bayh, Biden, and Kaine are out of the running.  Obama had all the info he needed on these guys and just couldn't pull the trigger during a week in which a VP choice would have received maximum exposure right before the Olympics.  It would have been better to do so before the games because you could run your commercial with your running mate.  My prediction is that something about the three (e.g. Biden's longetivity in Washington, the abortion stances of Bayh and Kaine) caused Obama to hold off on the move even though the press had already given these three their due for weeks.

We may have to go to a new list or look at new favorites once Friday comes and goes with a VP.  I think the VP train has left Bayh, Biden, and Kaine behind.

Bayh:     3 to 1

Kaine:    6 to 1

Sebelius: 8 to 1

Clinton   9 to 1

Biden     9 to 1

Clark    18 to 1

Hagel    19 to 1

Richardson 25 to 1

http://www.betfair.com/

It's going to be Hillary. Any other Veep minus JRE would need a national introduction on some level.

Like many have said: the longer this takes, the better Hill's chances are. Could you imagine the reaction if he keeps the pick totally mum, and then blows the roof out by announcing her as the Veep pick?

Another sublime head fake.  I'm fairly certain the veep pick will be somebody completely outside the CW.  My picks?

Clark
Clarke
Feingold

Maybe

Clinton
or
Richardson

Richardson, Clinton, Clark, Graham is who I would like to see, in that order. All solid picks, assuming Graham would be up to it.

Does anyone else think it's possible that Obama is strongly considering someone who is getting zero attention from the media?  If so, he's gotta be loving it because that would mean getting the maximum possible impact when the pick is officially announced.  If it were say, Brian Schweitzer, who is a complete unknown outside the blogosphere, everyone in the country would think, "Whoa, who is that guy?"  And then it would give Obama and his team the chance to introduce him to the country in a positive way before opinions are hardened.

Anyway, just a thought...

The Obama campaign is badly in need of an invigorating shakeup.  Only Hillary can provide that.  Not picking her could prove fatal.

The fact that he is taking this long indicates to me it will be somebody totally out of the box or that he is trying to make the Hillary pick feel like a big surprise.

Go Clark! Sign the petition at ObamaClark.com and join the Facebook group.

He combines, executive experience, foreign policy experience, southern, latino and religious appeal an more!

Also he could say "John McCain says he knows how to win wars? Well I've actually won them." (1.5 million people saved from genocide, 0 casualties)

Whoever it is, Obama is going to "think it over" during vacation. I'm still thinking it's going to be somebody totally off the radar. It will not be a sitting senator. The Dems need all the votes (60) it can get in the Senate. However, HRC is the choice if it's a senator as her seat is safe for the dems.

Bayh is a safe choice.  I still have my money on him.

Would love to see Biden though.

Does anyone else wonder why the heck McCain isn't publicly considering Christine Todd Whitman?

bayh would give the campaign a much needed shot of boredom (not sarcasm, serious).  he would help counter the celebrity meme.  bayh says celebrity the same way fred thompson says triathelete.  however, consider this.  if there's anything the Obama campaign can do, it's trick the media.  take the luring of the reporters on the plane, then leaving without them for example :P.  that's why i don't think we should read into any of the signs until an announcement is made.

Hillary has quietly published an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. It bespeaks the exploitation of various crises by Bush's Halliburton buddies for financial benefit, and Hillary's desire to see a return of the "Truman spirit" to the White House.

Let's hope she meant herself in an Obama administration.

I don't know who else as a VP candidate would positively break this tie Obama is experiencing with McCain!

Biden has been on the national news shows so often he is a known entity who won't need an introduction, so the conflict with the Olympics isn't an issue.

Evan Bayh is extremely popular in Indiana and has deep support from the working class and unions.  Bayhs support comes from an attempt by Republicans to pay non-union wages on state contracts when Bayh was governor.  Bayh stood up for the unions and against the Republicans and the union wages were kept.  Bayh has the loyalty of Indiana workers because Bayh stood up when it counted.

It is a big deal for Obama to have Bayh support him.  Bayh won't convince anyone to vote for Obama, but Bayh can get people to consider Obama more seriously.  In OH IN MI, Obama needs the unions to be enthusiastically on board.

someone who did not vote for the iraq resolution. he harped about judgement so much, how could he pick someone who voted for the war? (all of his recent flip flops not withstanding)

Do you think Clinton's web chat has anything to do with an announcement of VP?