Sometimes John McCain's campaign gets jealous of the attention given to Barack Obama. And the McCain camp hasn't hesitated to try to grab the spotlight and rain on Obama's parade, even at the risk of looking petty. So even though it would be a major break with the unwritten rules of politics, it's not too surprising to hear that some McCain advisors are at least considering the idea of announcing the Arizona senator's running mate on Thursday night, the same night that Obama will be giving his big speech officially accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.
"Perhaps hoping to turn a fresh page from the Democratic convention, advisers to Sen. John McCain are considering a Thursday night vice presidential announcement, an aide said yesterday, although the unofficial word from campaign headquarters is that Friday is still more likely," the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reports. Ambinder adds, "The prospect of a slightly earlier announcement has some Republicans worried that McCain has settled on Sen. Joe Lieberman. They assume that the campaign would not risk the bad form associated with jumping on Obama's night if McCain announces a traditional pick."
There are other reasons Republicans are expressing displeasure with the idea. For example, in a blog post, the National Review's Rich Lowry commented, "I don't like the idea," and gave two reasons: "It's bad form" and "Obama's speech would probably dominate the next-day news anyway."
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