US Politics: Time to Choose Gets Closer

Barack Obama yesterday was surrounded by intense speculation about his choice of running mate, with some reports suggesting an announcement as early as today.

Expectations that Obama had settled on a vice-presidential candidate have heightened with his return from holiday on Monday and the approach of the Democratic convention. The convention, in Denver, gets underway on Monday. Conventional wisdom has it that Obama will make public his choice of running mate on the eve of the convention.

But while the Obama campaign has revealed how it will make his selection known - by text message and email to supporters - his choice of running mate has remained the most closely guarded secret of his campaign.

The media has ruminated over a cast of potential favorites: Tim Kaine, governor of the swing state of Virginia; Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, who is seen as an experienced voice on foreign policy; and Evan Bayh, the Indiana senator, who could help Obama shore up support in the midwest.

It is viewed almost as a given that Hillary Clinton will not be on the ticket.

John McCain, the Republican candidate, has also yet to reveal his choice of running mate. However, it is thought he might wait until August 29 to make his announcement in the hopes of stealing the thunder from Obama's speech accepting the Democratic nomination the evening before.