U.S. Edition
DENVER (CNN) – John McCain has decided on his running mate and will officially reveal his pick on Friday in Ohio, multiple sources tell CNN.
A knowledgeable Republican source says there the matter was settled at a major meeting of McCain's advisers Wednesday.
The Arizona senator’s choice has not yet been told of the decision, but the plan is to call tomorrow. A handful of names of dominated VP speculation in recent days, including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, independent Senator Joe Lieberman, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
The presumptive Republican nominee will appear with his prospective running mate at a massive rally on August 29, the day after Barack Obama formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.
The McCain campaign is hoping to have 15,000 people at the Ohio rally — roughly five times the size of his largest crowd to date.
After making a surprise appearance at the convention Wednesday, Sen. Obama toured the site of his acceptance speech with aides David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
It often seems presumptuous to sit in a television studio and offer a judgment about how a political convention is working out in America when it is you, the voters, who are the real deciders. So please forgive, but here are some thoughts.
Overall, I thought that the Democratic Party finally brought it together tonight. Much of the credit for their success goes to the Clintons - through the speech last night by Hillary and then tonight by Bill, they brought glue to the party and an energy to the convention that was crucial. Recognizing how sad they must be inside, I thought they were a class act this week. Together, they brought a healing to the party that allowed people to pull together.
Add to that the way that both Barack Obama and Joe Biden conducted themselves tonight, and they had the makings of a grand third night. Visiting the hall, Obama didn't talk so much about himself but rather, was gracious and thankful to the Clintons (as well, of course, as Michelle). Coming after Bill Clinton's rallying cry, it was impossible for Biden to top him - and he didn't - but he gave a very serviceable speech and his son Beau was absolutely moving.
The Republicans will have a full opportunity next week to make their case, and no doubt, they will have some grand moments, too. For now, this is the Democrats' turn, and they have used it well. Overall, my two cents is that tonight they may have started to reverse the momentum of this campaign. John McCain has been coming on strong, catching up with Obama in the polls - partly because a lot of Democrats haven't been sure in their allegiances. Now, Democrats may start coming home - and for the Obama-Biden team, that provides a big opportunity. Let's see if Obama can build on this momentum tomorrow night.
Now what do you, the read deciders, think? Would welcome your thoughts.
(CNN) – One of the reasons a strategist never sits in a stadium and get caught up in the crowds - and never sits watching a debate in person - is because the vast majority of American voters watch these political events on television
And while Joe Biden's speech was received well in the convention hall, I am not sure how it will play with most voters at home. It was largely a pedestrian speech, and I don't think was a great first impression for a lot of people.
The Democrats will come out with a unified convention and go into battle. But the idea that the vice presidential candidate is someone who can lend credibility to his nominee to be a commander in chief is wrong. At the end of the day, the country has to make a decision. Who is the leader, who has the experience to be a leader and who can take us to the next decade?
That's what voters get to decide in about ten weeks.
The Democratic Convention has finally come together. It has hit all the big themes, including the Iraq war and national security, just as those issues re-emerge after months of domestic focus.
One of the other things that Barack Obama has had to do is define himself and his family. Watching Michelle Obama throughout this week, I think she has come to be - through this convention, through her own speech, the video of her life - as a real figure and a likable person. I think anybody that couldn't see her in the White House before this convention could certainly see her there now.
You've got to keep thinking about John Kerry and John Edwards four years ago. You know, they left the convention also on a very high note - and of course went on to lose the election.
But this party has come together — three weeks ago, not many would have said you were going to see the Democratic Party on the eve of Barack Obama's speech where they are tonight.
Now it's up to Obama to go into that great stadium with the generals and the panoply of all these folks and pull it all together and be formidable.
That's the real question. Can he be formidable enough?
Barack Obama is getting the convention he wants, under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The convention he is building reflects him and his priorities: it’s thoughtful, not just red-meat; and he’s in surprising control of the message, given the forces he’s dealing with. Indeed, the convention-building and the message may be far more sophisticated and effective than we instant commentators were prepared to discern. Witness the opening night grousing on-air about the convention’s supposed thematic absence, and aversion to instant butchery of the opposition.
Read more from the AC 360 blog.
I thought Joe Biden gave the weakest of the major speeches of this convention.
Watch: 'This is our time,' says Biden
He stumbled through many of the best lines, he didn't have a clear theme, and he didn't deliver any memorable phrases or ideas.
It was a beautiful picture at the end - with the young Barack Obama and the older Biden together with their families. Beau Biden, the senator's son, gave a better introduction than his father gave a speech.
(CNN)– He gave a well received speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, but Rep. James Clyburn told CNN he had difficulty talking about the historic meaning behind the official nomination of Sen. Barack Obama.
"It's a very emotional thing for me," Clyburn told CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. "It's hard to explain what it really means. It means though that this party has taken a step that will help this nation get behind it, one of those things that have impeded our progress for a long long time.”
Clyburn, the House Majority Whip and the most powerful African-American in Congress said Obama's nomination has brought back memories of his parents and his childhood, growing up during the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's.
"I really flashback to sitting in a jail cell," The South Carolina native admitted, adding he wasn't sure the struggles he endured then to bring about equality for African-Americans would ever have a "beneficial impact."
"It came to me this afternoon that we did in fact succeed it in starting a journey that still is not completed...[but] tomorrow night will get us much closer to a more perfect union,” he also said.
Clyburn remained neutral during the Democratic primary and officially endorsed the Illinois senator on June 3.
Sen. Obama made a surprise appearance at the convention after Sen. Biden's speech. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Watch: Obama makes surprise visit
Barack Obama is set to appear with his running mate Joe Biden following the Delaware senator’s vice presidential acceptance speech tonight, according to his campaign.
Watch: McCain 'not change,' more of the same says Biden