Obama's Running Mate To Be Announced Soon

Some say it could be any day now. The chess match is about to begin. The Democratic Convention comes first, so he and his advisors must make their minds up soon, and announce the decision, soon.

Reports are flowing that Obama could announce his running mate very soon and you may guess, it has many on edge.

Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday morning, aides said.

Obama's deliberations remain remarkably closely held. Aides said perhaps a half-dozen advisers were involved in the final discussions in an effort to enforce a command that Obama issued to staff members: that his decision not leak out until supporters are notified.

Obama had not notified his choice — or any of those not selected — of his decision as of late Monday, advisers said. Going into the final days, Obama was said to be focused mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph Biden Jr. of Delaware.

Being the position of having to choose first, puts McCain into a very good position whereby he can steal some of the thunder during the convention. It forces Obama to show his hand first, giving McCain the opportunity to counter with a better choice.

Evan Bayh brings his ability to win a red state with him, but outside of Indiana, no one knows him. He is dull and inexperienced at the national and international level, just like Obama. Bayh is already playing a political game to get nominated, turning on his initial candidate. But, there is a movement among the hard left progressives to keep him off of the ticket that may prove too difficult of a hurdle to clear.

Tim Kaine who? Governor of Virginia, you say? May help him with that state, but he is also a virtual unkown in the international realm - where Obama needs the most help.

The only real sensible choice from this short list is Biden. He knows his foreign policy far better than most other Democrats and he definitely compensates for most of BO's profound weaknesses. In fact, if I were Democrat, I would have supported him for President far above any of the others. But he is not without fault.

For one, he is a jerk that loves to play dirty politics for political purposes and he has a long history of it. Lots of enemies can be made over the span of a career, the length of his. I would expect some real dirt to surface from his past.

Whoever is chosen will need to understand that the Barack ship may still sink, despite the running mate. Can they smell what Barack is cooking? For someone like Bayh and Kaine, it could be a career ender. For Biden, he'll still maintain his stature, but could lose a legacy in the process.