Still waiting on the VP announcement...

At this late stage in the day, some speculation is that the Barack Obama campaign is letting the McCain "housing gaffe" play out before letting us know who his vice presidential pick is. If this speculation is correct, it could make a Friday announcement unlikely.

"I think the Obama camp is going to let the McCain housing news play out," said a GOP strategist who preferred to be unnamed. "This is too good for Barack.  It would be foolish to step on their own news.  They've been on the defensive for nearly a month and within a week they get two gifts from McCain."

The strategist was referring to what she called McCain's "housing malfunction" on Wednesday and the Saturday's televised conversation with pastor Rick Warren when McCain said it would take $5 million a year income to be considered rich (something the McCain camp insisted was a joke).

Two new commercials

The Obama team has already released two commercials highlighting McCain's inability to articulate the number of houses he owns.  Yesterday's spot, titled "Seven" for the number of homes the Obama team says he has, and today's commercial named, "Out of touch," which features him riding in a golf cart with President George H. W. Bush.

"Call it country club economics," the announcer says.  "How many houses does he own? John McCain says he can't even remember anymore.  Well, it's seven.  No wonder McCain just said the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

New email (unfortunately not a text message)

This ad coincides with an email sent out today by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe asking supporters to reach out to their local papers.

"Yesterday, we launched a TV ad to show everyone how out-of-touch John McCain is with the economic realities of regular Americans," the email reads.  "But if we are going to get the truth out, it's going to take all of us working together to make it happen."

Plouffe urged supporters to watch the ad and send a letter to their local newspaper to "expose the real John McCain."

Where are they?

As for the potential vice presidential finalists?  The Associated Press released a person-by-person listing, pinpointing exactly where the candidates are and what they did (or said they did) on Friday. The list includes:

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine spent time with his son at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Senator Joe Biden remained home in Delaware.

Kansas Governor Nancy Sebelius spent time in her office and later would be preparing for the Democratic National Convention.

Senator Evan Bayh spent time with his twin sons in Washington, DC.

Senator Clinton toured the state fair in Syracuse, New York.

And Chet Edwards, had lunch with his sons in Waco.