John McCain is expected to reveal his vice-presidential choice on Friday at 11 a.m. during a rally in the critical battleground state of Ohio, according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.
McCain has indeed decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with McCain's campaign said Wednesday. His decision has been revealed only to his small inner circle of three or four people -- who have refused all public inquiry on the matter.
According to the report, Republicans close to the campaign said that the top contenders remained the same three men who have been the source of speculation for weeks: former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and, possibly, Senator Joseph Lieberman, independent of Connecticut.
As recently as Tuesday, McCain was said to still be entertaining the idea of Lieberman, who was Al Gore's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2000.
With the tactical timing of the announcement, McCain is seeking to diminish Barack Obama’s hopes of a bounce in the polls after he accepts the Democratic nomination in Denver Thursday night.
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