I'm getting ready to leave for vacation. CNN is still on in the office. Now it's Wolf Blitzer saying Obama's VP announcement "could come at any time." I'm convinced he doesn't know that for sure, just like this morning's anchor didn't know when she made a similar prediction.

Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen was a guest a few minutes ago. Biden? Bayh? Kaine? Clinton? Nope. He thinks the dark horse is Al Gore. Why not? That's as interesting a guess (more so, actually) than anyone else's.

Meanwhile, political operative Paul Begala warned that many of Hillary Clinton's backers (PUMAs - "party unity my ass"), already angered by the way they see Obama and the media having treated their candidate during the primaries, will be further agitated by word that she wasn't considered a serious enough VP candidate to be "formally vetted." Begala's partner James Carville (so low-key he almost seemed sedated compared to his other appearances) pretty much echoed that sentiment in a subsequent chat with Blitzer.

And so it goes. There's no news, so the cable beast is putting out plates of red meat to be chewed for hours and hours and hours. It's keeping Obama on the front burner, leaving McCain largely in the dust, driving up interest among those who live for political intrigue.

I'm presuming that by the time I return from vacation, we'll know.