The spinmeisters are at it again. The mainstream media is in a virtual tizzy over rumors Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is going to announce his vice presidential choice tomorrow. The names being floated include Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

ABC News reported that Kaine avoided answering questions about the vice presidential nomination:

“I haven’t sought it, I’m not running for it, I’m not asking for it,” Kaine told a crowd of reporters in Washington, [D.C.,] who waited for him to finish an interview with WTOP radio.
[snip]
“My conversations with the campaign stay with the campaign,” Kaine said, adding that he did not meet with Obama today and is not planning to do so. Obama is in Washington, [D.C.,] Tuesday for meetings.

Ironically Kaine himself may have caused the speculation with his own loose lips. On July 29 the Washington Post reported as follows:

“Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has told close associates that he has had “very serious” conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic presidential ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine.”

The Post went on to report:

“Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) are also being seriously vetted by the campaign staff, according to sources with knowledge of the process.”

Of course this media scrutiny on the vetting process has only hastened the foreseeable feeding frenzy of the blogosphere. Bloggers are pitching out the pros and cons of each potential candidate. Following the blogs are, of course, the musings of the usual assortment of armchair political commentators. As a result, Bayh has suddenly surfaced as a leading prospect for the position. But even that prospect seems to be fizzling into what appears to be a trial balloon.

But a well-placed source in the Obama camp told Michigan Messenger while Obama was in Lansing that the source had heard no conversations about Bayh as a vice presidential pick, nor that Obama was intending to announce his selection on Wednesday. Bloggers have targeted Wednesday as an announcement day, presuming Obama would want to get his V.P. choice out before the onslaught of media coverage for the Olympic games in China begins Friday.

So let’s take a peek at these three men and see what they can add to Obama’s campaign for change.

Biden ended his own bungled run for the presidency in January. His campaign had barely gotten off the ground before Biden opened his mouth and promptly inserted his foot with what some thought was a racially charged comment about Obama.

From the Washington Post at the time:

Biden sought to highlight his experience on the day he declared his candidacy, but an interview he gave to the New York Observer, a weekly newspaper, overshadowed his announcement.

In the interview, Biden described Obama as “the first mainstream African American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

“Asked during an afternoon conference call with reporters to explain his choice of words, Biden said he meant no offense in describing Obama the way he did, then lavished praise on the Illinois senator as a “very special guy” who has caught “lightning in a jar” like no politician he has seen before. “This guy is a superstar,” he added.”

While Biden has a long history with the Senate and is considered an elder statesman, that history could cause Obama problems. Obama is trying to run away from Washington-as-usual politics, and the selection of Biden would open him up to some serious criticisms for failing to continue to think outside the Washington box, an expectation he has created in his campaign.

The real choice seems to be between Bayh and Kaine.

Bayh is a former governor of a state thought “safe” for Republicans. In fact Indiana has not gone Democrat in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson won the state in 1964. Such a move as nominating a popular senator from a traditionally Republican state could leave Sen. John McCain’s bid for the presidency teetering on the edge by putting Indiana in play.

But Bayh also would come to the table with a host of controversy dangling from his belt. He was a co-sponsor of the authorization for force in Iraq, and he served on the committee for the liberation of Iraq. On top of that, Bayh has a rating of only 50 percent with the pro-choice group NARAL, meaning Obama’s already weak support from women could be further weakened. Bayh has also supported a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning.

Kaine is a close friend of Obama’s, and was, after the Illinois governor, the first governor to endorse his candidacy for president. He is popular in Virginia, which is a state Obama is focusing a ton of energy and money into, and again this is a traditionally Republican state, and Kaine’s nomination could put that state in play. He is also outside the Washington box.

But the first-term governor has had issues dealing with Republicans in Virginia, and he has no foreign policy experience. His selection could deepen concerns from voters about Obama’s lack of experienceand could send them into the arms of the “war hero” imagery of McCain’s campaign.