Obama's VP pick - predictions, Internet hoaxes and guarantees

All the talk this morning is about the upcoming VP selection. Around the Internet, hysterics ensued yesterday when a New York Times article proclaimed that Barack Obama had determined his running mate. Determined, perhaps. Announced, not yet.

There was some hysteria over on the GOP side as well when Mike Allen's headline over at Politico screamed that August 29 would be the day John McCain announces his forthcoming saddle pal.

But since we've got over a week to go through the endless reasons why a Tim Pawlenty selection would signal to some pundits that McCain is obviously not concerned with conservative cross-dressing anarchists in southern North Dakota, we'll keep focused on Obama and his upcoming pick.

The Obama road show

The soon-to-be Democratic nominee is in Florida and North Carolina today. Virginia tomorrow. Then the week opens up for an all out love fest for the happy ticket in determined battleground states.

So who is going to be traveling with Obama? The names on the short lists have remained pretty constant.

It's Delaware Senator Joe Biden, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Although Kansas Governor Kathy Sebelius is still a mention and former rival Senator Hillary Clinton is considered a longshot but a favorite of many. Incredibly, FOX News includes Massachusetts Senator John Kerry as a possible selection.

Then you hear from those "close" to the Senator and those "close" to the campaign and those "close" to advisers who know people in the campaign and those "close" to the guy who works at Dunkin' Donuts who lives a block down the street from a guy whose sister used to date a lounge singer who watches Hardball a lot. And they'll all tell you why they know who the selection will be.

Early predictors

Who got it first four years ago? An airline mechanic.

Bryan Smith, a US Airways mechanic, arrived at work on June 5, 2004, the day before Kerry gathered reporters at his wife's estate near Pittsburgh and formally announced that Edwards was his No. 2. As Smith told NPR, he was passing through a hangar at the Pittsburgh airport to get to his work area "when I was informed by, I am assuming, Mr. Kerry's people that I should not peek in that hangar and that it was, in fact, closed for the day."

So he did what you would have done: Every time he passed through that hangar that day, he took a look.

"Around 6 that evening, I peeked in and saw they were putting John Edwards' name on the airplane," he said. "They concealed it rather quickly -- they taped paper over the logos. I just happened to peek in at the right time."

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