John McCain makes a statement to reporters after attending a business roundtable meeting Monday in Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Photo: AP
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to celebrate his 72nd birthday on Aug. 29 by naming his running mate at a huge rally in the battleground state of Ohio, Republican sources said.
That’s a week from Friday, and the day after his rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, accepts the Democratic nomination at a 70,000-person spectacular in a Denver stadium.
The campaign has begun building a crowd of 10,000 for Dayton, Ohio, according to an organizer. McCain is scheduled to appear with his running mate at a large-scale event in Pennsylvania shortly thereafter.
Senior Republicans are in the dark about who he’ll name, although they say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty are prime contenders after a trial balloon by McCain gave him very negative feedback about the idea of picking an abortion-rights running mate such as Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the first secretary of homeland security.
Sources close to McCain say he has wrestled with the choice, torn between a high-stakes, high-reward pick like Ridge or Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman — the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000 — or a safer and more conventional selection such as Romney or Pawlenty.
Friends say he has yet to make a final decision, and is not expected to do so until after Sen. Barack Obama announces his choice.
McCain friends emphasized that he talks about the decision with almost no one, and could even change the announcement plans and go sooner.
“McCain views this as the one decision that he has total, utter, nonnegotiable control over,” one campaign official said.
The announcement strategy — provided McCain doesn’t change it — calls for naming the pick early Friday morning to try to suppress Obama’s bounce coming out of his convention.
“You’re going to own the weekend,” a McCain official said.
The Republican convention begins the following Monday — Labor Day — in St. Paul, Minn.
McCain advisers say they don’t think it would make sense to name the vice presidential designee earlier because the impact would get diluted by Obama’s selection. And because the GOP convention is second, they have the advantage of knowing the opposition ticket before showing their own cards.
“You can fire the bullet once,” said one key Republican. “You want the most meaningful target.”
Alex M. Triantafilou, chairman of the Hamilton County (Ohio) Republican Party, said in an exuberant post on his blog this weekend: “Sen. McCain is expected to host a rally on August 29 in Dayton and is looking for a BIG venue and for a BIG crowd. He'll get it. This is not yet public. I guess I just made it so.”
The post has been removed without explanation.
PolitickerOH.com reported Monday morning that the event will be at the 10,000-seat Ervin J. Nutter Center, a sports and entertainment complex at Wright State University.
Does anyone else think that Barack Obama is a completely unqualified candidate for the job of POTUS? The Saddleback Forum cleared up any doubts I had."Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though." - Barack Hussein Obama
It should be Romney. Heck, even Hagel would be good - it would confuse everyone. Even Lieberman. Anything else would be boring or pandering. And no - you two people pimping those two women nobody has ever heard of - no no. :-)
"McCain to name VP in Ohio" if he can remember the name, or remember to go to Ohio. If he chooses a female running mate, will he call her a trollop and and cxxt, like he called his wife in public.the TRUTH dammit
That awesome... Make it a big event on your birthday so you can remind as many voters as possible how old you are. 72 oldest potential president ever!!!!
That awesome... Make it a big event on your birthday so you can remind as many voters as possible how old you are. 72 oldest potential president ever!!!!
Hope it is Hillary!!! obama would be crying like phlegm said Hillary did!! No stutter, stammer, shifty-eyed, lying hussein for president!! VOTE McCAIN '08
I don't know who it will be.......but I always wondered about Romney pulling out of the race. It surprized everyone. Then he became a big McCain cheerleader. Was the fix in back then? Just wondering.
Who ever it is needs to be a true conservative.
Mercer The Home is the greatest influence on the character of Mankind
McCain has the advantage in picking his Veep, because of Obama's lackluster numbers in he poles. If Obama doesn't choose Hillary then, who cares who the Veep is for the Dem Nominee. Can you even remember the names thrown around for VP on the Democrat side?
I would rather be Governed by the first 8 names in the telephone book. William F.Buckley NOBAMA-2008
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