Opinion: Obama plans big Illinois rally Saturday. VP pick day?

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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