New York Times chief political correspondent Adam Nagourney told the NewsHour's Jim Lehrer:
But what strikes me about this is the fact that he's going to announce it tomorrow at the earliest or Saturday. It's actually, in many ways, evidence that they don't look at the vice presidential choice as that significant to his campaign...And it has more of a feeling of checking the box.
The Democratic National Convention is five days away. As convention planners get ready to throw open the doors, new polls suggest voters are not ready for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
CNN's poll of polls shows Barack Obama's lead over John McCain has been cut in half. And for the first time, McCain leads Obama in a national survey. The latest Reuters/Zogby poll found McCain leads Obama 46 percent to 41 percent.
Once again, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has stepped in it. This time, his loose lips let slip a political gaffe, an unintended truth.
In an interview on National Public Radio's "Tell Me More," Dean said:
If you look at folks of color, even women, they're more successful in the Democratic Party than they are in the white, uh, excuse me, than in the Republican Party because we just give more opportunity to folks who are hard-working people who are immigrants and come from members of minority groups.
It's been said that the way to make sure a meme is widely adopted is to repeat it over and over and over again. During the primary battle between Obama and Clinton, a nasty little internet email gained enough traction to spill over into mainstream discussion.
That email purportedly "proved" that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ. Now it's hard to believe that in the 21st century, a stupid, fact lacking, anonymously spread internet rumor would impact a person's opinion of a presidential candidate - but it has.
In fact the Obama as anti-Christ foolishness has gathered so much steam that it looks like none other than the McCain campaign has picked up the idea and is running with it. And now the likes of CNN and 'Time' are actually addressing this nonsense. ... Here's the video:
So Sen. John McCain supports a black president on TV, but not one in real life. And Obama still likes the Dick Van Dyke show?
Now I know you can't judge a book by its cover. But can you judge a candidate by his pop culture picks?
Leave it to the hip, cheeky folks at Entertainment Weekly.com to concoct a presidential survey that entertains and informs. Well, mostly it just entertains and that's the point.
My favorite shows and movies matched with one candidate's favorites; and that was McCain. My favorite television show of all time is "The Wire." and McCain lists it as one of his favorites in the survey.
I believe I can tell a lot about a person based on what he or she thinks of "The Wire" – the full HBO version, of course.
The New Yorker magazine caused a commotion with their cover. But Vanity Fair could beat everyone else to the newsstands a week later with sinister-satire-spoof of John McCain.
The pro-Migrant bloggers over at the The Sanctuary website are making national news by trying to do a very difficult thing: keep Obama and McCain honest about their immigration agenda. It seems that in an effort to catch the majority of the ever growing "Latino vote," Obama and McCain are flip flopping all over themselves, changing what they say depending on what audience they are speaking to.
So in June, the folks at The Sanctuary made a basic request; they asked each candidate to respond to a 38 Question Candidate Survey. You can probably guess the response. Neither candidate has completed the survey nor, until the Survey made national news, had either candidate even responded. ...
Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions; Expand our diplomatic presence, strengthen NATO and make Israeli-Palestinian conflict a key diplomatic priority; Fight global poverty and seek new partnerships in Asia
McCain plans to fight violent Islamic extremists and terrorist tactics; increase the size of the military; sanctions on Russia until Putin exits Chechnya; Urge Japan to open economy to ensure Asian recovery; No diplomatic or trade relations with Cuba, Iran or North Korea; solidarity with U.S. allies.
Gay Marriage
Obama says "Marriage has religious and social connotations, and I consider marriage to be between a man and a woman." He wants states to decide this and supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.
McCain says he opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, wants individual states to decide the issue. Supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.
Enviornment and Climate Change
Obama's plan calls for a reduced carbon emissions 80 ppercent by 2050; invest in a clean energy future; support next generation biofuels; and set a path to oil independence.
McCain calls for climate policy built on scientifically-sound evidence; mandatory emission reduction targets; facilitate international efforts.
Immigration
Obama's plan for immigration calls for securing boarders; must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants; Bring people out of the shadows and work with Mexico; cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
McCain's plan for immigration includes deporting some of the 2 million illegal immigrants who committed crimes; Certify border is secure; only then allow guest workers; McCain stands against amnesty plans for illegal citizens; Comprehensive reform requires temporary worker program.
The War
Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. He has called for no permanent bases in Iraq; Obama plans to make it clear to the Iraqi government and military that the U.S. is leaving.
McCain's plan for Iraq includes succeeding before leaving. He wants to put international pressure on Syria and Iran for aiding in the aided and abetted the violence in Iraq; improve Iraq's economy.
Education
Obama's education plan includs reforming No Child Left Behind; Address the dropout crisis; recruit, train and tetain better teachers; make the first $4,000 of a college education completely free throught tax credits.
McCain's plan states if a school will not change, the students should be able to change schools; place parents and children at the center of the education process; create a school systems based on competition and not low standards.
Health Care
Obama's plan call for coverage of uninsured Americans through a national health plan with affordable premiums. Obama has also called for a National Health Insurance Exchange act as a watchdog group to reform the private insurance market; Mandatory coverage of children and better organized state heal care plans.
McCain's health care plan is focused to reduce spending and extenting more health care options to those who are typically uninsured. His plan calls for pushing Health savings Accounts; work with states to establish a guaranteed access plan.
Economy
Obama's plan for the economy included middle-class tax relief; Creating green jobs; protect homeownership and crack down on mortgage fraud. end predatory credit card practices.
McCain's Plan for the economy includes eliminating broken and wasteful government programs; a middle-class tax cut; Social Security reform; lower trade barriers.
Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Senator John McCain spoke at the NAACP annual Convention in Cincinnati on Wednesday hoping to gain more of the black vote. He discussed his concern over the education of black youth; laying out his plans to issue private school vouchers for children attending failing public schools. "All of that went over well with the teachers union, but where does it leave families and their children who are stuck in failing schools?" the Arizona senator asked. "No entrenched bureaucracy or union should deny parents that choice and children that opportunity."
He received mostly polite applause in a room with some empty seats, two days after Obama received a thunderous reception from a standing-room only audience, hoping to see him become the first black president of the United States.
On Thursday, Barrack Obama decided that he was NOT going to accept public funds for his presidential bid making him the first presidential candidate to EVER turn down this money since the system was created in 1976.
To shed light on this, each candidate stands to receive public funds equaling $84 million dollars. Where does this money come from? It's raised by people who check the box to give three dollars to presidential election on their tax returns.
Now, you may be wondering why Obama would turn down this type of cash. Here are two major reasons:
1. There is a spending limit that comes with the acceptance of public funds.
2. There are also restrictions on the amount of money candidates can receive from special interest groups.
But there is one issue they are not fighting over: illegal immigration. Obama voted for the McCain-Kennedy bill that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. The legislation was scuttled after angry calls to Congress crashed the U.S. Capitol switchboard.
Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions; Expand our diplomatic presence, strengthen NATO and make Israeli-Palestinian conflict a key diplomatic priority; Fight global poverty and seek new partnerships in Asia
McCain plans to fight violent Islamic extremists and terrorist tactics; increase the size of the military; sanctions on Russia until Putin exits Chechnya; Urge Japan to open economy to ensure Asian recovery; No diplomatic or trade relations with Cuba, Iran or North Korea; solidarity with U.S. allies.
Gay Marriage
Obama says "Marriage has religious and social connotations, and I consider marriage to be between a man and a woman." He wants states to decide this and supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.
McCain says he opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, wants individual states to decide the issue. Supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.
Enviornment and Climate Change
Obama's plan calls for a reduced carbon emissions 80 ppercent by 2050; invest in a clean energy future; support next generation biofuels; and set a path to oil independence.
McCain calls for climate policy built on scientifically-sound evidence; mandatory emission reduction targets; facilitate international efforts.
Immigration
Obama's plan for immigration calls for securing boarders; must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants; Bring people out of the shadows and work with Mexico; cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
McCain's plan for immigration includes deporting some of the 2 million illegal immigrants who committed crimes; Certify border is secure; only then allow guest workers; McCain stands against amnesty plans for illegal citizens; Comprehensive reform requires temporary worker program.
The War
Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. He has called for no permanent bases in Iraq; Obama plans to make it clear to the Iraqi government and military that the U.S. is leaving.
McCain's plan for Iraq includes succeeding before leaving. He wants to put international pressure on Syria and Iran for aiding in the aided and abetted the violence in Iraq; improve Iraq's economy.
Education
Obama's education plan includs reforming No Child Left Behind; Address the dropout crisis; recruit, train and tetain better teachers; make the first $4,000 of a college education completely free throught tax credits.
McCain's plan states if a school will not change, the students should be able to change schools; place parents and children at the center of the education process; create a school systems based on competition and not low standards.
Health Care
Obama's plan call for coverage of uninsured Americans through a national health plan with affordable premiums. Obama has also called for a National Health Insurance Exchange act as a watchdog group to reform the private insurance market; Mandatory coverage of children and better organized state heal care plans.
McCain's health care plan is focused to reduce spending and extenting more health care options to those who are typically uninsured. His plan calls for pushing Health savings Accounts; work with states to establish a guaranteed access plan.
Economy
Obama's plan for the economy included middle-class tax relief; Creating green jobs; protect homeownership and crack down on mortgage fraud. end predatory credit card practices.
McCain's Plan for the economy includes eliminating broken and wasteful government programs; a middle-class tax cut; Social Security reform; lower trade barriers.
Minus a couple of black folks seen with him on the campaign trail, you still don't see many in the room with McCain when he is meeting and greeting or standing in crowds.
For the third time in three months, Republicans lost a special congressional election in a safe GOP district. The Mississippi loss came 10 days after the GOP lost a traditional seat in Louisiana.
In Mississippi and Louisiana, Republicans used Barack Obama's past ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. to try to scare up white votes. Instead, their strategy boosted black voter turnout. Now Congressional Republicans are scared the three straight losses foretell disaster in November.
While Wright didn't work any magic for the GOP in Mississippi, 52 percent of voters in West Virginia said Obama shares the views of Wright. The question is open-ended so it is not clear to which views they are referring. Obama has, after all, denounced and repudiated Wright.
On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama has lost momentum. 
The reviews are in: 
On Thursday, Barrack Obama decided that he was NOT going to accept public funds for his presidential bid making him the first presidential candidate to EVER turn down this money since the system was created in 1976. 