Obama's Pick By Wednesday?

Several news outlets are reporting that Obama has made his Veep pick and will be announcing it tomorrow morning or Wednesday.

“As The Ticket previously reported, the campaign says it will make the announcement first via e-mail to supporters who’ve signed up. We’ve had false alarms in both camps already,” the LA Times noted. “They may be accidental. But they also serve a campaign’s purpose of hyping interest and anticipation first among the media and then the voting public.Politico reported earlier this morning that an announcement was expected this week.

“A person familiar with the campaign’s planning noted that Obama’s schedule at the end of this week is open, but said the announcement could come ‘as late as the weekend,’ according to the online newsmagazine. “Obama and his inner circle have held his intentions tightly, while a wider circle of aides in Chicago has been kept far enough out of the loop that they’re willing to speculate freely on the possible choice.”

“There are plenty of tea leaves to read,” Politico added. “Obama’s schedule this week takes him through the home states of a few possible contenders: He’s spending Monday in New Mexico (Gov. Bill Richardson) and Wednesday in Virginia (Gov. Tim Kaine and former Gov. Mark Warner).”

My gut instinct tells me that if I had to make a choice right now, I'd be betting on Gov. Tim Kaine at this point. We'll of course know soon.

Why Kaine? He can deliver Virginia, Obama would be taking on the GOP machine in the South directly, and Kaine would help Obama in North Carolina and possibly Florida too. However, Kaine himself as recently as this weekend (where he was stumping for Obama) says his selection is not "likely".

On Saturday, Kaine spoke to Obama supporters in Winchester, Leesburg, Manassas and Warrenton, Virginia. Sunday, the governor began his day in Washington, D. C. representing the Obama campaign on "Meet The Press" and rounded out his weekend with a rally and Town Hall in Richmond, where he once served on the City Council and as mayor.

At nearly every stop, Kaine faced questions about his chances of running as Obama's Vice Presidential candidate. In Warrenton, Kaine told the room “It has been really nice to be mentioned, my mom loves it. I never thought it was very likely, for a variety of reasons.”

If he's sandbagging, he's doing a good job.

Then again, the case for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is pretty strong as well.

US presidential hopeful Barack Obama was courting the Hispanic vote in New Mexico yesterday amid swirling rumours about his possible choice of running mate.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has also been touted as a possible vice-presidential pick for the youthful senator, said he was glad to see the Democratic Party leaving past rivalries behind.

''The point is, the party is united. We're coming together,'' Governor Richardson said yesterday. Senator Obama was ''doing everything'' possible to bring all supporters of his former rival, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, into the fold.

Richardson would all but guarantee a massive Hispanic turnout for the Democratic ticket, and those numbers are going to be very important in swing states, plus it would signal the growing power of the Democrats in the West. Even the GOP would have to tread very carefully on the race issue with an Obama/Richardson ticket...and let's not forget Richardson is a former US Ambassador and highly respected in foreign policy circles.

Then again, Obama may surprise all of us. Again.