McCain Camp Worries It Will Be Overshadowed Until Democratic Convention

John McCain has been forced to play the pip-squeak all week. The candidate has been trying to get one word in edgewise while Barack Obama has been swarmed by adoring officials and supporters overseas. Even when the McCain camp tried to drum up media criticism around Obama canceling a visit to US troops in Germany, they were silenced and made to look like the ones who had gaffed. They criticized Obama for canceling the trip, only to be told later that it was in fact a long-standing Pentagon policy that had forced the cancellation.

With the Olympics starting August 8, the McCain camp is now nervous it won't be able to get a word in before the Republican National Convention in September. The Washington Post suggests that fear will spur McCain to name a running mate very soon so his decision won't be overshadowed.

The Washington Post should beware of the McCain camp on this issue. Conservative columnist Robert Novak said they may have used him this week to drum up VP speculation. The ultimate reason for using Novak was of course to get some time in the spotlight!

Read below. McCain aides are indicating his decision will come very soon.

Anxious to counter the blanket media coverage that has followed Sen. Barack Obama on his overseas journey, Sen. John McCain is weighing whether to announce his running mate in the coming weeks before the spotlight shifts to China and the opening of the Olympic Games next month.

"He's in a position to make [the decision] on short notice if he wanted to," said Charles R. Black Jr., one of McCain's top political advisers.

Two top aides to the presumptive Republican nominee said the decision is likely to be announced after Obama returns from Europe on Sunday and before the Beijing Olympics begin Aug. 8. They said the campaign fears that unanticipated events coming out of China -- whether in the form of athletic accomplishments or human rights protests -- could deflect attention from the announcement if it were made during the Games.

The Olympics conclude the day before the Democratic nominating convention opens in Denver, and the GOP convention begins in Minneapolis-St. Paul just four days after the Democratic gathering ends.

Comments

[gevan]

Roughly half of the coverage that the McCain campaign got this week was that the McCain campaign was complaining about the coverage that Obama's overseas trip was getting. Way to get your message across, Johnny.

[nonconformist2]

J.ohn Mc.Cain = Jan Brady

MARSHA MARSHA MARSHA!

[NoahVail]

Is that a diesel-powered phone he's holding there? Maybe he should switch to gas or electric..­.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

He's going to make cell phones powered by oil as part of his new energy policy.

[homerun]

lol That is funny

[swooge]

Steam powered. McNovacain got it personally from from Alexander Graham Bell. It was his first attempt.

[ObamAtomic]

Green energy,solar, power,lol.­........

[Rumplestiltskin]

It is recycled from abandoned bee hives, and uses only Gaia approved organic internal circuitry. Algae chips take up more room.

[swooge]

HAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHA­!!!!!!!!

That's so silly. Everyone knows that algae chips aren't that big.

[CRX]

BWWWWWWWAA­AAAHHHHAAA­!!
Frikin' Hilarious comment NoahVail!
Thanks, I needed a good laugh today!

[CocteausTwin]

Then read the posts around 4:00 or later, you will split a side.

[MACS]

.
When you have absolutely nothing to offer American Voters but more of the same bush, why would you expect to get any attention?
.

[zephyrus]

el teléfono está viejo y mohoso

[ObamAtomic]

Como el hombre!

[zephyrus]

Too many microwaved burritos here....Es­toy loco.

[ObamAtomic]

PhotoShop

[Flagal]

Hey has anyone heard the one about Johnny M & Mathuselah?

[ObamAtomic]

Aux of Follies..w­here is C,prepaRing the wedding,fixing a Mustache!

[ndnndpendent]

I just have a question about the picture. Is that a recent photo and if so, do those old phones like that still connect to all these modern towers or what? I m just curious about that phone.

[LMT]

You can see a blurry '2008' in the background just over his right shoulder.

[CocteausTwin]

Since so many people are bringing up polls, I have a couple of questions:

1 - Most people have caller ID, does anyone answer the phone when it says "Private" or "Out of Area"?

2 - Aren't they usually based on "likely voters"? what makes a likely voter? Are new voters considered "likely voters"? If someone did not vote last prez election, are they considered "unlikely"?

[Flagal]

Not to mention how many people now have cell only.

[AnnieinOR]

that would be us - it was silly to have 3 phones... cells and land line, when the cell was always with us anyway.... so we will never be polled.

[SaviourMachine]

Excellent points CT.

Unless I recognize the number I let it go to voice mail.

[nonconformist2]

1. "Likely" voters are those who voted in the last presidential election. It doesn't count new registered voters or voters who didn't bother to vote in 2004. Every Msnbc's Chuck Todd (the numbers guru) thinks that they really should poll "registered voters" to get a more accurate picture.

2. Caller ID will limit the sample, but also they only call landlines and not cell phones. Most of the younger generation only use cell phones.

3. The size and variety of the sample greatly effects a poll. Not all polls are equal, even if the MSM likes to pretend they are.

4. The MSM likes to cite the Gallup daily tracking poll on Wednesday. Why? Because McSniffles does well on Wednesdays. O.bama does much better on weekends. It has to do with who is home and when.

[CocteausTwin]

Thanks. All great points.I have had many of the same thoughts, but #4 had not made it to my conscious level.

[firewmn]

and what should be asked ... ??

Are the Pollsters trustworth­y..

Are they making the correct entries when a polled person gives them an answer..??

Or..

Are they putting in the answer they want to pad the poll in favor of a particular candidate.­. such as McSurge..?­?


Thoughts to ponder..??

[Davwbaird]

Thought David Brooks is a dunce.

[MorningJoeMikaIsMarried]

I not really worried about the polls considering the Wall Street Journal was involved.

[CocteausTwin]

No I put little value in polls, and I certainly do not base my decisions on others.

[JLee]

The McCain campaign: Setting new records for irrelevance all the time.

[PumaAnn]

That's OK. Fox will cover McCain for those of us who aren't interested in Obama photo ops. That's why Fox is number 1 in news.

[CocteausTwin]

As Scott confirmed today they are the reincarnation of Pravda.

[nonconformist2]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember anyone in modern history being elected president who whines as much as McSniffles. Americans don't elect whinners. I.diots, certainly (B.ush), but not whinners.

[Flagal]

Nixon maybe

[nonconformist2]

Nixon didn't whine.....­....he blamed....­..........­....and framed....­..........­..and lied. But he didn't whine, at least not until he became president.

[Rumplestiltskin]

jimma c_arter. He even whined on behalf of his fellow Americans.

[nonconformist2]

Give specific examples. Otherwise this is just right wing B.S.

[CalculatedRiskTaker]

Hey John, that's one big unit you got there in your hand. Feeling a little lonely?

[THEhillbilly]

"Even when the McCain camp tried to drum up media criticism around Obama canceling a visit to US troops in Germany, they were silenced..­."

It's funny that distant left drones can say that and in the next breath try to diffuse the unassailable fact that NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, almost all major newspapers, etc., are acting as grandiloquent, done-nothing megalomaniac Obama's campaign mouthpieces. Okay, maybe it's sad instead of funny. Sure seems to be some sort of pathology.

[DFutureIsNow]

McCain: Can you hear me now?