Halperin on the Veepstakes

With us all watching and waiting, Mark weighs in with some insights:

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–No civilian could or would believe how much resources news organizations are wasting trying to break the veep stories.

–Obama and McCain understand the media well enough to know what actions would risk a leak, and their campaigns will sequence accordingly.

–The “imperative” McCain might have felt two months ago to make a “bold” pick has faded enough that he can now see the difference between “bold” and “foolishly risky.”

–Some of the finalists really want the job, and some are shockingly ambivalent, and McCain and Obama know that too.

–Ask yourself: which campaign has done more research (polling and focus groups) on possible choices?

–Ask a certain Obama campaign official how many times a day he gets phone calls and emails from a certain network correspondent, who asks the same questions over and over, as if the campaign official is going to answer them.

–News organizations with money to burn (and a passion to break the story) are following the movement of the college-age and adult children of the prospects.

–The RNC and Rush Limbaugh will attack whomever Obama picks.

–The DNC and the Huffington Post will attack whomever McCain picks.

–Reba Shimansky will find anyone Obama picks to be far inferior to Hillary Clinton.

–Although there has been a focus on the dangers for Obama of picking a women other than Hillary Clinton (because of how her supporters might react), picking a man who is seen as less qualified or electorally helpful as she is is also a risk.

–Besides the presidential candidates, no one has thought more about who should be picked than Lindsey Graham.

–Three things matter: that the chosen one be perceived as ready to be president by the press and the public; that the vetting be well done, including a plan to publicly address the blemishes; and that the first 48 hours of events and interviews be flawlessly executed.