MORNING READ

The speculation online about Barack Obama’s running mate is zeroing in on Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.). A report that John McCain will announce his pick the day after the Democratic convention has conservative bloggers hoping the move will stifle an Obama bounce. And a new poll showing Sen. Saxby Chambliss’s (R-Ga.) Democratic challenger within striking distance bolsters liberal bloggers’ hopes of a filibuster-proof Democratic Senate majority.

“Say it is so, Joe,” Mark Halperin writes at the top of The Page, hinting that the pick is Biden. But despite the long-time senator’s foreign policy experience, he voted for the Iraq war and wouldn’t reinforce Obama’s message of change, writes kos, who disagrees with Josh Marshall‘s contention that Biden would be a good pick. The smart money is on Biden, but leaks of his name and other veep contenders could serve as decoys to allow Obama to surprise people by choosing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), writes Hot Air’s Allahpundit.

News that McCain will announce his pick on Aug. 29 helps keep the Republican in the news this week and next week, just as Obama is rolling out his running mate selection, writes Marc Ambinder. By announcing the pick after the Democratic convention, McCain can avoid Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) 2004 mistake of announcing too early and failing to receive a significant boost in the polls, according to The Next Right’s Patrick Ruffini. While conservative bloggers are touting former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) as strong pro-life picks, McCain is calling state Republican officials to sound out the possibility that he’ll choose a pro-choice running mate, writes The Corner’s Rich Lowry.

Democrat Jim Martin trails Chambliss, 43 percent to 48 percent, proving that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s strategy of backing Martin over another candidate in the primary is paying off, writes MyDD’s Jonathan Singer. Chambliss has a tough race on his hands even though he’s still favored due to Georgia’s Republican tilt and his campaign war chest, writes Daily Kos’s brownsox.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Say It Is So, Joe – Mark Halperin, The Page
Biden – kos, Daily Kos
NYT: Obama’s Picked His Veep – Allahpundit, Hot Air
Pro-Choice VP Pick? – Rich Lowry, The Corner
McCain: Aug. 29 for His VP Pick – Jerome Armstrong, MyDD
McCain Pre-Announces the Announcement – Marc Ambinder
Romney or Pawlenty on Aug. 29 – Hugh Hewitt, Townhall
VP Selection Critical to Momentum – P. Ruffini, Next Right
Ohio – Larry Kudlow, The Corner
McCain Outspending in Battlegrounds – G. Sargent, TPM EC
Martin Within Five Points of Chambliss – J. Singer, MyDD
Martin Nipping at Chambliss’s Heels – brownsox, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Ready to Announce Running Mate This Week – NYT
Obama’s VP Pick Keeps Everybody Guessing – Washington Post
The Lingering What-if Question: Clinton? – New York Times
House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff – Wall Street Journal