By Holly Bailey 

(AP Photo / Mary Altaffer)

Within the hour, John McCain is due at the Phoenix airport, where he will board his campaign plane en route Dayton, Ohio. The big question: When will we know who McCain has picked as his running mate? So far, McCain and the small circle of campaign aides with whom he has been consulting on the decision aren’t talking, not even hinting, at who his No. 2 might be, though it’s presumed whoever he or she is knows by now.

One thing is clear: The campaign is making no effort to stop the intense speculation over when McCain will announce. It has been widely assumed that McCain will appear with his No. 2 at a rally in Dayton Friday morning, although aides have pointedly refused to confirm that. A few days ago, the rumor mill suggested that the senator could push up that announcement to today, in an attempt to steal some of the thunder from Barack Obama’s speech tonight in Denver. Asked about the plans, an aide again said, “No comment.” More recently, speculation has centered on scheduled 6 p.m. rally at a ballpark near Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Reporters traveling with McCain quickly took note of the late starting time, as McCain rarely does night events, especially on the weekend. Of course, the campaign won’t say anything.

A few days ago, a senior McCain aide insisted the campaign looked to Thursday as “Obama’s night”—suggesting, though not outright saying, McCain would not appear with his VP pick today. (Hey, there’s always an airport arrival in Dayton, folks.) But what the campaign has done is partially divert the press’s attention away from a night that should have been ruled by the Democrats. But the McCain campaign may face a little trouble of its own next week, as a tropical storm (and possible hurricane) Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast, taking aim at New Orleans as early as Monday. Ironically, that’s the night President Bush is scheduled to speak to delegates at the GOP convention in St. Paul. So far, GOP officials are waiting to see what happens with the storm, but a McCain aide, who declined to be named, says the campaign has a “contingency plan” in place and is examining various scenarios including possibly postponing aspects of the convention. “We’re monitoring the situation very closely, and we’ll make plans accordingly,” McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker told NEWSWEEK.