Obama’s VP Choice is…

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Anxious reporters have waited breathlessly all week for an announcement from the Barack Obama campaign as to his vice-presidential running mate choice.

No, I don’t know who it is. Sorry for the teaser, folks, I’m waiting too.

Obama does seem to be having fun teasing everyone with the suspense though, saying he’d announce his choice "sometime in the next 48 hours."

Most media sources were expecting him to make the announcement on Friday, with less than 24 hours to go before the nominee and his choice would appear together at the Democratic National Convention.

The Obama camp has said there would be a text-message and email announcement to his supporters first, followed by a statement to the general press and public.

Until then, the nominee has been playing with the media, essentially saying "That’s for me to know and you to find out."

What he actually said was, "I made my selection and that's all you're going to get." Same difference, if you ask me.

Those pesky paparazzi and rabid reporters have been reduced to stalking the most likely candidates, which thus far have been narrowed to Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN) or Joe Biden (D-DE), and Governors Kathleen Sebellius of Kansas and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Kaine stirred up a frenzy when he announced that he just happens to be taking a family trip to Denver this weekend, but the press is staked out at the homes and businesses every possible choice for veep, hoping to catch a glimpse of a suitcase or travel itinerary.

Speculation has also been buzzing about another possible choice, someone with a familiar name: Edwards. Not, not that guy. Not the recently disgraced John Edwards, who, after months of lying (or in his mind, "telling 99% of the truth") about an affair with a filmmaker, finally coughed up the truth.

Chet Edwards, a Congressman from Texas, has just surfaced as an addition to the "short list" for Obama’s running mate. Officials confirmed that Edwards had been vetted for the job, but representatives for Edwards told reporters, "All questions about the VP selection should be directed to the Obama campaign."

As for Sebellius, she said only, "It’ll be exciting news."

Some folks, desperate for clues, glommed onto the fact that during an interview with CBS News, Obama mentioned that as VP, "he" would need to have several important qualities, meaning that the choice must be a man.

No way to tell for sure, of course, but those qualities "he" (Obama) mentioned might offer some clues as well. Though if you’re a crackerjack detective like me, you’ll notice "he" seemed very careful in this particular section of transcript to avoid using any gendered pronouns, even to the point of using the plural "they" to refer to a singular person, risking the ire of grammar sticklers everywhere. Ugh, I’m voting for McCain now.

"Obviously, the most important question is: Is this person ready to be president?" said Obama in the CBS interview. "The second most important question from my perspective is, can this person help me govern? Are they going to be an effective partner in creating the kind of economic opportunity here at home and guiding us through some dangerous waters internationally?"

Added Obama, "And, the third criteria for me, I think, was independence. I want somebody who is going to be able to challenge my thinking and not simply be a yes person when it comes to policymaking."