Below The Beltway

It looks like Joseph Lieberman’s speech at the Republican convention is going to cost him:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Joe Lieberman’s speech before the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night could cost him the chairmanship of a key Senate committee, a top Senate Democratic aide told CNN.
During the speech, the Connecticut senator praised GOP presidential candidate [...]

With the first day of the Republican National Convention canceled thanks to the threat of Hurricane Gustav, things got back on track yesterday with a day devoted to playing up the parties 2008 nominee:\
ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 — Republicans began laying out a vigorous argument Tuesday for electing John McCain to the presidency, using [...]

If it’s Thursday, it must be time for rumors about Vice-Presidential running mates and, now we’ve got two more of them.
First via Jason Pye comes a report on what may be a clue that Mitt Romney is the man:
Just hung up the phone with Joe McCutchen, a Republican activist up in Ellijay.
Joe says he just [...]

It seems that John McCain has made up his mind on a running mate, and will announce his choice tomorrow morning in Dayton, Ohio:
SEDONA, Ariz., Aug. 27 — Republican presidential candidate John McCain has settled on a running mate, and the pair will appear together on Friday at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, according to [...]

First there’s this from Townhall.com:
Overheard:  Pawlenty, Romney or Lieberman.  Noon on Friday.
Then, there’s this from Stephen Bainbridge:
There’s a rumor floating around my little corner of the vast right-wing conspiracy that John McCain has cut his VP candidates down to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and FedEx CEO Fred Smith. Boy would the latter be an out [...]

While the Democrats continue their convention in Denver, details are starting to leak out about John McCain’s anticipated announcement of his Vice-Presidential running mate.
For example, The Politico reports that the McCain Campaign will move quickly to shift the focus from Obama and the Democrats:
DENVER — John McCain is planning to rollout his vice-presidential nominee in [...]

As ridiculous as the idea sounds, the Lieberman for Veep buzz, which I wrote about last week (see here, here, and here) is continuing.
Today, Bill Kristol makes the case in his Monday New York Times column:
Obama and Biden will try to frame the presidential race as a normal Democratic-Republican choice. If they can do that, [...]

As the nation waits for Barack Obama’s Vice-Presidential announcement, attention is also turning to the question of who John McCain will choose as his running mate. And, it’s pretty clear that nobody has a clue right now.
Last night, National Review’s Byron York reported that the list had narrowed to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Connecticut [...]

The idea of Joe Lieberman as John McCain’s running mate may still sound absurd, but even if it turns out to be the political wonk fantasy I think it is, there will still be Joe-mentum at the Republican convention:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2000 and now [...]

I say it’s little more than the speculation of bored political pundits, but the stories about McCain considering Joe Lieberman for his running mate aren’t going away:
John McCain is seriously considering choosing a pro-abortion-rights running mate despite vocal resistance from conservatives, with former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) very much in the [...]