Waiting on Obama

I'm inclined to agree with Congressional Quarterly editor Chris Lehmann who had this to say about the ubiquitous coverage about Obama's VP selection this week:

Imagine if you were covering the baseball playoffs and you wrote that there was massive speculation about who was going to win. It's manifestly moronic because you're writing about a scheduled event that is going to take place on a known timeline. You're contributing nothing. It's the opposite of news; any useful public information is entirely missing. But that's the way the press bubble operates. Not only do reporters write about what they're talking about, but they're writing about each other.

Compare that with what inside-the-bubble reporter/blogger Chris Cillizza wrote the other day:

"No scoop in political journalism is more sought after than the identity of the vice presidential nominees.

Given the prestige that comes with breaking the vice presidential nominee's identity, it's not difficult to understand just how hard it has become for the campaigns to keep it a secret."

Cillizza goes on the list who broke the VP news in every race since 1988- as if anybody outside the presidential press pool could possibly care.

In all fairness to Cillizza, who is a good blogger, after reading criticism about the contest to break the VP news on Slate.com, he wrote a sheepish entry the next day about how, on further reflection, breaking the VP news is not all that important. (For even more amusing criticism of the press pool bubble and the total uselessness of cable political commentary read Harper's blogger Ken Silverstein here).

Anyway, the point in all this is, like it or not, today I am waiting on Obama- the paper has decided to go for an article detailing the reaction of local politicians on the pick- which could be interested given that we do have some pretty passionate Clinton supporters around. There is not a whole lot I can do until the announcement, which may not even happen today.

So I will be waiting and wondering at exactly what point this afternoon/evening we have passed the point where an announcement is possible.