Within the last few hours I’ve spoken with two of the finalists for the role of Barack Obama’s running-mate, and to two other sources who are close to the process.
My bottom line is this: Barring a big surprise or last-minute change of heart, the choice is likely to be Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
He is a lively and feisty if unpredictable campaigner with working-class roots and a street-level feel for the hot spots of the globe — which he can use to go toe-to-toe with Sen. John McCain.
“If I had to bet my life on it, I’d bet it is Joe,” said one of the other contenders.
Said another, “Barack is moving toward a seasoned Beltway type, and that probably means Biden.”
Today has been excurciating. We have known that Biden is the pick for over 24 hours now, and the only suspense left is when the announcement will come. I am waiting for that text message. I am going to need a beer after work today, so if the announcement comes between 5 and 7, someone else will have to break the news here.
UPDATE: CNN IS REPORTING THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT WILL COME IN A FEW HOURS.
UPDATE 2: Mark Halperin has updated his own teaser story this morning, which originally read that “Bo knows…the pick.” NOW IT SAYS “BEAU knows ….the pick.” HA!
UPDATE 3: Al Mascitti is reporting that the announcement will be made Friday evening (???). He says this news just came over the wires. This news goes against everything heard in the last few days, and it goes against conventional wisdom. Why would you announce a VP on a Friday or a weekend? It makes sense to do a joint appearance in Springfield, Illinois on a Saturday, but it is better sense to announce it before hand so that it actually gets covered in the news. So that you own a few news cycles more than you would otherwise. So a Friday night announcement makes no sense, and may indeed be yet another head fake to get us all off the scent for a few hours, since the buzz was building very loudly today everywhere.
My bet is tomorrow still.