Barack Obama says he has made his choice.

"I made the selection, and that's all you're going to get," the presumptive Democratic nominee for president said Thursday when reporters cornered him at a store counter.

Presumably, we'll get more soon -- in the form of a text message.

There's no question at this point that Obama is playing the process for all that it is worth.

The presumptive Democratic nominee's got the whole country -- indeed the whole world -- watching him as he chooses someone to fill a position that was described by its first occupant, the lamentable John Adams, as "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."

Of course, Adams parlayed the post into a term as president.

Since then, 13 more vice presidents have become president -- nine by unfortunate inheritence and five by election. And during much of the Bush-Cheney interregnum, the current vice president has pretty much run the country from its No. 2 position.

Even if they don't take charge of the country, they take charge of their respective parties. Just since World War II, present or former vice presidents have secured the presidential nominations of their parties in eleven separate elections.

So the attention to this selection-process is entirely appropriate.

Even as his poll numbers have dipped a bit, Obama remains a reasonable, perhaps even a good bet to be the next president of the United States.

There's no question that Obama's choice matters. He is picking a man or a woman who could very possibly be president and who will very probably end up leading the Democratic Party.

It should be the essential story of the moment.

Barack Obama has made the most important decision of his campaign.

Now, all he has to do is reveal it -- at which point we can all begin to speculate about John McCain's choice.

Comments (16)

1. "Obama remains a reasonable, perhaps even a good bet to be the next president of the United States."

   Indeed, this is a significant moment in U.S. history. Unless Americans lose all hope, perspective, and confidence, we will will fulfill our promise and elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

   Posted by Be Good at 08/22/2008 @ 02:11am

2. Hey, what about McSame's VP pick?

   Doesn't it matter?

   A guy his age, with his health record (1200 pages covering just the last 8 years).

   Why ignore McSame?

   Posted by sloper at 08/22/2008 @ 02:17am

3. Well,who cares who's veep. John or Obama, you try to get a less evil.

   Posted by HelenDAO at 08/22/2008 @ 03:28am

4. poor mr. obama.

   the candidate of hope is now

   the

   pre-packaged,

   dembrand branded,

   focus-grouped

   candidate

   of blah.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 08/22/2008 @ 08:16am

5. Mr Nichols, you said it would "probably be Biden"...

   still sticking with that?

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/22/2008 @ 08:48am

6. Probably Biden--a safe pick. Could add a little to Obama's campaign. Talks too much, but would make a good attack dog. His replacement would be a Dem, so you wouldn't lose a seat in the senate. Has a good "down home, blue collar, working-class Democrat" bio that the MSM would repeat ad nauseum. BO could do a lot worse.

   Posted by Hamiltonian at 08/22/2008 @ 09:14am

7. Posted by Hamiltonian at 08/22/2008 @ 09:14am

   Not so sure. Obama's message has been "change"...and Biden as a safe "Establishment Dem" just doesn't reflect that.

   I'm thinking he's going to pull a "Clinton 1992" (where the younger Clinton picked a young Al Gore as Veep, to contrast with the 12 years of Reagan/Bush)....and go with somebody "unusual".

   But NOT female, BTW. That would look like a blatent pander to the Hillary voters (and wouldn't work).

   Actually McCain likely to pander (AFTER Obama picks his Veep...such is McCain's "leadership"...heheh) and go with a woman, but that too would be obvious and he's probably smarter than that.

   I still hope for Mitt...just to see that vein in LVLIB's head bulge out. LOL

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/22/2008 @ 10:07am

8. I'm not as concerned about this VP pick issue as long as its not Clinton or Gore.

   If that happened, I'd feel the same way Mark Hanna did after Theodore Roosevelt's nomination for VP, although with much better reason: "Do you realize there is only one life between that madman (or madwoman) and the White House?

   Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 08/22/2008 @ 11:07am

9. Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 08/22/2008 @ 11:07am

   I don't know if comparing Clinton or Gore to....Teddy Roosevelt...is a "bad" thing, CHIP?

   LOL

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/22/2008 @ 11:10am

10. But if Obama picks Al Gore for different reasons than why Bill Clinton picked him, then would it be for the same difference?

    Posted by hsuBfools at 08/22/2008 @ 1:37pm

11. Hey if hsuB had his poppy to get him where he is today-- then McPOW has his baby mammy...

    Posted by hsuBfools at 08/22/2008 @ 1:54pm

12. Reply to MkDlta: I'm unconvinced Obama is really the Candidate of "Change." In fact, I'm damned suspicious of him. He has my vote because he's better than the blithering, drooling, unprincipled fool he's running against. Obama reminds me more and more of JFK--the JFK who dithered, tacked, bobbed and weaved, all the while TALKING about change, but doing very little. I may be wrong, of course, but since the bench is very weak, Biden probably makes the most sense. Given that a good PR message can continue the phoney "change" theme, and Biden can talk an elephant's leg off, he would probably make a good choice--politically, but that's all.

    Posted by Hamiltonian at 08/22/2008 @ 2:40pm

13. Posted by Hamiltonian at 08/22/2008 @ 2:40pm

    Well, there are lot on the Left who think if Obama doesn't pick BERNIE SANDERS or even RUSS FEINGOLD, he's "not good enough on change"

    We'll see though in less than 8 hours.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/22/2008 @ 2:51pm

14. I'm really torn on this. Of all the people in the presidential primaries, I felt Joe Biden would have been the best choice. The question now is, what's the next best position for him to hold in the Obama administration.

    Although there is certainly a lot of prestige that goes with the Veep job, I think the country would be better served by Joe Biden, Secretary of State. I believe he could launch a presidential run from either position, but I really think he'd have much more influence as SOS.

    Don't really know who my second choice would be for VP.

    Posted by sbenasso at 08/22/2008 @ 3:19pm

15. HooooooooooooRA FOR THE OBAMA GROUP. John McShame has had his last Huhrah and needs to go back to his hole in Arizona if he can remember which house to go to. It only gets better for dems from here and well for repubs dont cry too much in your historic lost of the Presidency and Congress.

    This election will be a blowout if all us small dems remember that this is not over until the fat lady sings and work our hearts out until then. What a beautiful voice she will have.

    Posted by LAWWIZARD at 08/22/2008 @ 6:33pm

16. Reply to MkDlta: I'm unconvinced Obama is really the Candidate of "Change." In fact, I'm damned suspicious of him. He has my vote because he's better than the blithering, drooling, unprincipled fool he's running against. Obama reminds me more and more of JFK--the JFK who dithered, tacked, bobbed and weaved, all the while TALKING about change, but doing very little. I may be wrong, of course, but since the bench is very weak, Biden probably makes the most sense. Given that a good PR message can continue the phoney "change" theme, and Biden can talk an elephant's leg off, he would probably make a good choice--politically, but that's all.

    Posted by Hamiltonian at 08/22/2008 @ 2:40pm

    ta da!

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/23/2008 @ 02:08am