Muckraker: Grist on Politics

Barack Obama could drop his VP announcement at any minute. Which is what we’ve been hearing all week, except now there are fewer minutes between the present and his big shindig in Springfield, Ill., tomorrow afternoon, when he’s supposed to appear with his new running mate. What we do know is that at some point in the next 24 hours, he’ll unleash a flood of text messages and emails to supporters unveiling his selection. Grist promises the full green scoop after Obama reveals his choice. In the meantime, here’s the latest:

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ABC News says he might drop the announcement tonight as everyone gathers around the boobtube to watch the Olympics. Chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos floats the idea that it could possibly be Joe Biden. Or Evan Bayh. Or Hillary Clinton. Or Al Gore.

In short, no one has a damn clue.

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Politico raises the possibility of Chet Edwards, the Democratic Texas congressman who represents George W. Bush’s home district. TPM speculates that it’s neither enviro-friend Kathleen Sebelius nor enviro-foe Tim Kaine, as both are booked for Sunday morning shows to talk about the VP choice. The New Republic‘s Eve Fairbanks caught a Sebelius event in Iowa yesterday and guesses from the governor’s speech that she’s not the No. 2.

For the explicitly green angle, Greenpeace has put together a cheat sheet on the environmental records of potential Obama picks. Gristmill contributor Miles Grant also contemplates the green angle over on his blog, The Green Miles.

Meanwhile, pranksters are going wild with fake Veep text messages. It doesn’t help that Wonkette posted a step-by-step guide to sending false VP announcements.

The suspense, for many, is wearing thin. “I’m checking for the message often but have stopped listening to the guesses du jour,” Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, told ABC News. “It has become like waiting for the birth of a baby that is 10 days overdue.”

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