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.
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.
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.
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.
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