Republican Rumblings

We're getting closer to the announcement of John McCain's running mate.

• RealClearPolitics refers to rumors that John McCain will make the announcement on Thursday — instead of Friday, as was originally suggested.
  
  Bad move, says RealClearPolitics. "Obama is going to be the story on Thursday night and the headliner on Friday morning, and McCain shouldn't try to fight it."
  
  RealClearPolitics is referring to a Fox News report.
  
  It does not indicate why McCain would want to move up the announcement to Thursday, but it does observe that Friday will be McCain's 72nd birthday.
  
  If McCain really is considering moving the announcement to Thursday, is it to avoid having renewed scrutiny given to his age?
  
  If McCain is hoping to avoid appearing old, insensitive and out of touch, is that the best way to do it?
  
  It's reminiscent of Harris' Lament — if you're too young to remember, Detective Harris was a character on "Barney Miller," and he used to say about his apartment search in New York City that "all the good ones are taken!"
  
  In the years since "Barney Miller" went off the air, Harris' Lament has been applied to all sorts of things, from the perceived shortage of good, available lovers to the alleged scarcity of memorable website addresses.


• McCain should be aware that there is some evidence that the much-hyped "running mate bounce" is overblown.
  
  A tracking poll conducted by Gallup suggests that Joe Biden's selection changed nothing in the first three-day period following the announcement.
  
  Taking that into consideration — as well as the possibility that McCain doesn't want to announce his choice on his birthday — maybe McCain would be wise to put it off until Saturday.


• Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell may be one of the busiest people at the Democrats' convention, at least in its early stages.
  
  Already, the Morning Call blog quotes Rendell as saying that Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, will not be McCain's running mate.
  
  The reason given is an apparent guess, based on the fact that Ridge is supposed to introduce McCain at an event in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
  
  From that information, Rendell apparently has concluded that Ridge is not likely to be named McCain's running mate on Friday ...
  
  ... which makes about as much sense (to me) as the guesses that were made about the viability of various Democratic veep prospects based on their speaking assignments at this week's convention.
  
  Rendell, who supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries, has some words for the presumptive Democratic nominee as well.
  
  The Washington Post's blog The Trail quotes Rendell as saying that Obama is "not exactly the easiest guy in the world to identify with."
  
  Rendell's elaboration may be even more damning.
  
  "He is a little like Adlai Stevenson. You ask him a question, and he gives you a six-minute answer. And the six-minute answer is smart as all get out. It's intellectual. It's well framed. It takes care of all the contingencies. But it's a lousy soundbite."
  
  Personally, I admire many of the positions Stevenson took in his career. But Rendell makes a valid point about the lengthy answers not lending themselves to soundbite status.
  
  The only soundbite-worthy phrase that has emerged from the Obama campaign is the slogan "Change We Can Believe In," which Frank Rich of the New York Times suggested, during the weekend, needs to be replaced with something more urgent.