Obama plans big Illinois rally Saturday. VP pick day?

Looks like Illinois Sen. Barack Obama may be making his vice presidential announcement on Saturday back home again in Indiana, no, Illinois.

The Obama campaign has confirmed it is planning an event there then at the Old State Capitol, which just happens to be where the freshman senator officially announced his run for the White House three years ago.

No, it just seems that way. It was actually on a very chilly, inhospitable day in February 2007, back when the now 47-year-old ex-state senator was an obvious long shot against the vaunted political machine of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Then, according to the renewed conventional thinking, the newlywed running mates will launch a quick pre-convention tour of important swing states before arriving to claim their top spots on the 2008 Democratic national ticket in Denver at the National Convention that begins there Monday.

Of course, this Springfield event could also be one of several involving both candidates with the actual V.P. announcement coming as a dramatic surprise, say, early tomorrow or Thursday morning via e-mail as promised. Then, the two candidates would still show up in Springfield together Saturday. Like old home week without the "Present" votes. Except Joe Biden is from Delaware. But who knows?

Our colleagues Rick Pearson and John McCormick also have the story over at the Swamp.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photo credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

Comments

[Nate]

I hope McCain goes with Romney for VP. It's about time we send someone to Washington with a record of fixing broken companies.

[KYJurisDoctor]

Will Joe Biden be back by then or is he hoping to raise KAINE (of Virginia)? OsiSpeaks.com

[Greg from Riverside]

Nate,
A) He won't choose Romney - GOP won't accept a Mormon.

B) He isn't going to the White House.

[Gaias Child]

the print shop must be making posters and buttons ... where's a good investigative reporter when you need one?

never have so many waited so long to find out who is their vice presidential candidate.

[Nathaniel]

Wow. This is a very confusing and poorly written article. Whatever they pay you is too much.

[David]

Springfield, home for Obama. That's a laugh.

[Biden Not A Viable Choice for VP]

Joseph Biden's Plagiarism
Democratic presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden Jr., a U.S. senator from Delaware, was driven from the nomination battle after delivering, without attribution, passages from a speech by British Labor party leader Neil Kinnock. A barrage of subsidiary revelations by the press also contributed to Biden's withdrawal: a serious plagiarism incident involving Biden during his law school years; the senator's boastful exaggerations of his academic record at a New Hampshire campaign event; and the discovery of other quotations in Biden's speeches pilfered from past Democratic politicians.

The controversy became two frenzies in one when it was disclosed that the campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis had earlier secretly distributed to several news media outlets an "attack video" juxtaposing the Biden and Kinnock speeches and revealing Biden's word theft. The Dukakis campaign at first stonewalled and denied any part in the tape's distribution, but when the truth emerged Dukakis was forced to fire his campaign manager, John Sasso, and political director, Paul Tully – the two who had orchestrated the maneuver. Dukakis himself insisted he had no prior knowledge of their actions, and though wounded, his candidacy survived the incident.

[TK]

It's amazing that the same party that ran in 2000 on a platform of "we can't be the world's policeman" and accused the Democrats of being too concerned with other countries and "foreign adventures" is now touting a candidate who says the exact opposite. And it's really stunning that the same party who loves to criticize primarily Muslims countries for discriminating can't accept a Mormon on their ticket. Now that I think about it, there is no way a Republican can ever be right. They are just a bunch of racist, selfish, extremist hypocrites.

[Sandi Miller]

I agree with Greg from Riverside about Mitt. I will never vote for someone who wears MAGIC UNDERWEAR. I had a Mormon neighbor who wore them.

[Daddy Dave]

If Barack chooses Biden he'll lose the swing vote. Biden is the most partisan grand-standing attention-loving Senator out there. He focuses on the smallest issues (steroids in the Senate?) and lets the big ones take care of themselves.

[Jersey Bob]

Greg, very well said.

I think McCain will choose Lord Voldemort as his running mate. It will make a clear distinction from 8 years of Darth Vader.

[Kate C]

More Anti-Obama Dumb reporting from the LA times.
you really hate this guy don't you? you always oput up the crappiest pictures you can find - still pushing the Rove angry man angle. Why don't you Stop your anti-Obama additction long to report real news...

[WylieD]

"Obama plans big Illinois rally Saturday."

After losing ground in the polls, the poor guy badly needs another ego fix. The Berlin hit has worn off and it's several days until his convention sports stadium love-fest.

Feed the hole, Barack.

[Andrew L - Des Moines]

Since McCain has become the nominee, I'm not nearly as concerned that the GOP will put up serious competition for Obama -- that is, if the American voting public has learned anything at all following 8 years of George Bush.

Bush maintained about a "C" average for much of his college life, but McCain? How about 894th out of a class of 899 at the Naval Academy, at least according to data supplied by Jack Cafferty. http://tinyurl.com/5pzv6y
I just don't think there is anything that is going to derail the Obama train. I'm really looking forward to a little downtime next week, so I can phone some undecideds. Can't imagine being undecided at this juncture, but with 2,000,000 unique donors vs. 600,000, our prospects for victory on 11/4 look very good.

No matter who Obama picks, I'll respect his decision -- even if it's Hillary -- though I wouldn't be thrilled. Better yet, how about Colin Powell!

[Sage]

It's Sebelius.

[John]

Obama should just pick Hillary if he really wants to win.

Romney is flip flopper his sons don't participate in the military because they support him and his efforts to get elected and that is more important for this country then serving. At least this is what he was saying during his run for the #1 seat.

[Carl]

Replace Obama's name with Hugo Chavez and translate into spanish. You can make twice the fee.

[Steve]

I cannot beleive this artical is in such a high profile news publication. Is the LA times scouting for reporters out of the Enquirer? I am going to print this artical just so i can crumple it up and through it in the trash.

[NEPatriot76]

Romney may know how to fix broken companies but he sure doesn't excel at governing. Ask anyone from Massachusetts. He was never there (began campaigning for president shortly after taking office), made fun of MA every opportunity he got, and went back on many campaign promises. No love lost here.

[Rob V]

Pick John Kerry. Swift Boat McCain back to Arizona.

[NEPatriot76]

Romney may know how to fix broken companies but he sure doesn't excel at governing. Ask anyone from Massachusetts. He was never there (began campaigning for president shortly after taking office), made fun of MA every opportunity he got, and went back on many campaign promises. No love lost here.

[topgun]

I was originally against it...but I think Obama should pick Hillary. The ticket would be so strong the American people would say "John McWho?"

[Roger Cyr]

You have to choose a VP that at least has some intelligence to make up for McCain who cannot even talk without something written on a piece of paper for him

[dave]

mccain's 'gulag archipelago' or, 'cheating for christians'

mccain: 'he came walkin' up...stood there for a minute, and with his sandal, on the dirt in the courtyard, he drew a cross.'

solzhenitsyn: 'slowly he looked up and saw a skinny old prisoner squat down beside him. the man said nothing. instead, he used a stick to draw in the dirt the sign of the cross.'

in solzhenitsyn's story, the power of the christian symbol, empowering a single man to prevail against a mighty army, and an empire of evil.
in mccain's version, the audacity to abuse the symbol, to lie about his past, in the face of the nation's christian congregation.
to win their approval.

mccain, like obama and clinton, does not mind saying one thing one moment, and the contrary the next; like these other unprincipled, unsteady and shifty puppet candidates, he is a candidate of disintegration, bent on dissolving and removing, borders and distinctions, between sovereign nations and colonies, between facts and fiction, between integrity and corruption, between truth and lies. since he will easily adopt literary characters and merge fiction with his own memories, and does not have own thoughts, could the ex-pow (or is that too, only fantasy?) be expected next to try, to transform america into some fantastic gulag archipelago? and does obama's vision of a better world, then project the ambition of a prison planet?
the constitutional republican candidate for president who consistently tells the truth, upholds the constitution, loves liberty, and votes his conscience, is candidate for PRESIDENT, RON PAUL.

[Paul Stewart]

I'm good with Biden if that is the choice. It does make sense unless there is someone that is even more Biden than Biden out there somewhere we have not thought of. I think the counter on foreign affairs and experience add a lot of weight to the ticket and defuse the McCangries in their Quick Draw McGraw talk.