Waiting for Obama
source: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/22/waiting_for_obama.html
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DENVER -- And so we wait. We wait here in Denver and in Washington and in Chicago and across the country. We wait for a leak, a wink, a cryptic message, a curious quotation, an unusual movement by a private plane, a slip of the tongue by Joe Biden.
Give credit to Barack Obama's team. So far they've orchestrated the vice presidential roll out deftly -- delaying it until the eve of the convention to assure that they dominate the last days before opening night with real news, while steadily ratcheting up the frenzy of speculation in the days beforehand.
The rumors are rife. Hard information precious. The candidate reportedly has called the losers -- but who? Any on the presumed shortest of short lists? Has he called Biden or Evan Bayh or Tim Kaine to say, 'Sorry, pal'?
Has he called some of those in the outer reaches of consideration who were not really in the hunt? A knowledgeable source said Friday morning that Bill Richardson was advised in the last 36 hours that he was not likely to be chosen. Who else might have gotten a call of condolences isn't known.
Has he called Hillary Clinton to tell her flat out that she was under consideration but that she did not make the cut? Or, if she was never under consideration, was she called simply as a courtesy to his most formidable rival and now his most important surrogate? Now that would be a piece of information that could move the markets.
Note to media: beware of false indicators and head fakes by the campaign. In 1984, Walter Mondale's campaign announced late one night that the candidate had made his decision and called his running mate -- and then sat back and watched the media scramble to find out who it was. One news organization discovered, seemingly authoritatively, that Geraldine Ferraro was on the manifest of a flight to Minneapolis. Except Mondale had sent a private plane to pick her up. Right name, wrong signal.
Give credit to Barack Obama's team. So far they've orchestrated the vice presidential roll out deftly -- delaying it until the eve of the convention to assure that they dominate the last days before opening night with real news, while steadily ratcheting up the frenzy of speculation in the days beforehand.
The rumors are rife. Hard information precious. The candidate reportedly has called the losers -- but who? Any on the presumed shortest of short lists? Has he called Biden or Evan Bayh or Tim Kaine to say, 'Sorry, pal'?
Has he called some of those in the outer reaches of consideration who were not really in the hunt? A knowledgeable source said Friday morning that Bill Richardson was advised in the last 36 hours that he was not likely to be chosen. Who else might have gotten a call of condolences isn't known.
Has he called Hillary Clinton to tell her flat out that she was under consideration but that she did not make the cut? Or, if she was never under consideration, was she called simply as a courtesy to his most formidable rival and now his most important surrogate? Now that would be a piece of information that could move the markets.
Note to media: beware of false indicators and head fakes by the campaign. In 1984, Walter Mondale's campaign announced late one night that the candidate had made his decision and called his running mate -- and then sat back and watched the media scramble to find out who it was. One news organization discovered, seemingly authoritatively, that Geraldine Ferraro was on the manifest of a flight to Minneapolis. Except Mondale had sent a private plane to pick her up. Right name, wrong signal.
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- News and Politics, Obama, Barack Obama, Election 08, 3 more
