By Holly Bailey 
(Item originally posted July 21, 10:18 p.m.) 

Is John McCain going to announce his vice presidential running mate this week? The political world is all atwitter this evening about a Bob Novak item posted late today suggesting that McCain is readying a surprise announcement of his veep pick in hopes of sucking all the oxygen out of Barack Obama's trip overseas. Is it going to happen? Two words: Who knows? McCain's not talking--nor are any of his small circle of senior staff who are actually involved in the selection and have long said they won't discuss in any way, shape or form the VP process.

But let's look at the clues: McCain tomorrow is holding a town hall near Mitt Romney's vacation home in New Hampshire, and reporters on the trail this week with McCain have been put on notice that there might be an additional event tomorrow. Key word there: "might." In other words, OMG! Now if the rumor mill is to be believed, Romney is near the top of McCain's list--indeed, the former gov even gets namechecked in the aforementioned Novak item. Could McCain possibly show up tomorrow in New Hampshire with Romney, his former foe, and announce they are not only close friends but now running mates? Anything's possible. The setting, after all, would be special for McCain--New Hampshire is the state that raised the onetime underdog's campaign from the dead, not once but twice. And, bingo, McCain would probably lead the evening newscasts tomorrow. Not a bad scenario for a campaign openly frustrated with the news media's fascination with Obama's trip overseas. But hold your horses, we have another suspicious stop on the itinerary. Over the weekend, McCain's campaign announced a late addition to the senator's schedule this week: a quick trip to New Orleans. There, McCain is set to meet with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another oft-mentioned veep possibility. Cue the buzz machine!

Is anything going to happen this week? The only people who really know aren't talking. But even if McCain holds off on his announcement, his campaign does score something of a message victory, in that all the ramped up speculation on the senator's intentions is keeping the focus on him. In other words, the head fake, if that's what it is, might just accomplish part--if not all--of what actually naming a running mate could do for McCain this week, in terms of coverage. While McCain himself hasn't said much about his veep search--except for that he won't talk about it--it is worth noting that he told reporters on his plane in March that he wouldn't mind waiting to see who Obama picks before naming his own running mate. Is that strategy still operable? Stay tuned.

Read Stumper's take on Romney as veep here and here; for Jindal, click here.