Below The Beltway

Sometime within the next 24 hours, John McCain will name his Vice-Presidential running mate.

This morning, though, he says that he hasn’t made up his mind yet:

WASHINGTON (CBS) ― Looking toward his turn in the spotlight, Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain said Thursday he had yet to decide on a running mate.

McCain was expected to name his vice presidential pick this week, possibly Friday. The hope is to curb any uptick in polling that Democratic nominee Barack Obama could get from his convention, which wraps up Thursday, and to create momentum heading into the gathering of GOP delegates for McCain next week in St. Paul, Minn.

The New York Times Web site and Politico.com are reporting that McCain has picked his running mate and will formally announce his choice on Friday at 11:00 a.m. in Dayton, Ohio.

McCain and his running mate are expected to appear together for the first time at one or more rallies, including one planned for Saturday in Pennsylvania.

McCain said in an early morning radio interview that he was bringing along to that event both former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, two of the leading names on his short list. But he cautioned against assuming that meant either one would be the pick.

“I haven’t decided yet so I can’t tell you,” he told KDKA NewsRadio in Pittsburgh early Thursday.

He did, however, talk highly of one name that’s been mentioned this week:

McCain talked glowingly of Ridge, a longtime friend who has been a frequent presence at his side during the campaign.

“He’s a great American and a great and dear friend and I rely on him and I have for many years,” McCain said.

McCain’s praise of Ridge is interesting in light of this post from yesterday over at The Moderate Voice:

I have been hearing some rumors that are pretty interesting. At the risk of sounding like a much bigger journalist than I really am, I will have to take the 5th when it comes to revealing the sources but I can tell you that this news comes from an unnamed source close to Ridge.

The report is that, for some time now, McCain has settled on former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as his top choice for the VP spot. The selection of Joe Biden would only seem to re-enforce this determination. McCain the maverick has said he does not care if the hard right dislikes Ridge for his pro-choice views.

However, the bump in the road seems to be Ridge himself. Ridge has said that he does not want to take the VP spot because he wants to spend more time with his family. Normally this is a political dodge but in this case I suspect it is true.

If this is true, then it’s possible that McCain still wants Ridge and is trying to change his mind.

In any case, though, like Marc Ambinder I don’t believe McCain when he says he hasn’t made his mind up yet.