Romney to announce running mate on Saturday @9am ET in Norfolk, VA

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Romney has absolutely no reason to announce his VP pick until the last possible moment. I'd be surprised if he announced within the next month.

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Historically, candidates have waited until the cusp of the convention to announce their VP choices:



Will the advantage that comes with having a second full-time campaigner make enough of a difference to Romney that he'll buck this trend?

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The argument that I've heard is that waiting allows the Romney camp to amass more information about a presumptive pick (as the Obama campaign and the media investigate everyone who is being speculated on), and that because of this there's no point in going public earlier than he must.

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Maybe the Drudge rumor came from people in Rice's political orbit, who think she'd benefit from veep speculation.  Exactly what her ultimate goal is here, though, I don't know.

I'm reminded of Jon Huntsman's quixotic, consultant-driven presidential campaign. Could she be angling for a think-tank appointment or SoS? (I don't think there's any reason to believe that media chatter would make a significant difference in bringing this about.) Could she be considering a challenge to Blumenthal in 2016? (That might be a competitive race, but she's always claimed to have no interest in seeking elected office.)

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Oh, Christ. I thought that she taught at Yale. Embarrassing. Never mind.

Anyway, while it's clear that the Rice chatter might be a Romney-led attempt to distract from the Bain mess, there's enough evidence to suggest that Morden's speculation is plausible.

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The Ryan chatter baffles me, too. I don't understand why a politician who has systemically avoided discussing policy specifics throughout the campaign would choose a running mate who's known for doing exactly that.