One of the few moments of drama that is scheduled to occur sometime before the Republican National Convention takes place in Tampa (seven weeks from tonight) is the selection of a running mate for presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.
In recent election cycles, that choice is generally made within a couple of weeks of the convention. The last time when that didn't happen was the last time a nomination was still theoretically up for grabs - when Ronald Reagan, trailing Gerald Ford in delegates in 1976, named Richard Schweiker before the Kansas City convention (that strategy didn't work out for Reagan that year, obviously).
We mention that because there is a report today in the New York Times that Mitt Romney could possibly name his running mate by the end of this week (that notion is embedded in a story regarding Tim Pawlenty's chances to be named VP). We'd say the odds are still pretty low that that will actually happen, but then again, it sure would get the media to stop focusing on Bain Capital and releasing more of his tax returns, wouldn't it?
And speaking of the tax issue, can Romney really get away with producing just two years of returns?
Tensions between some members of the West Tampa community and their guests from Occupy Tampa was the subject of a 90-minute meeting on Saturday. Read our report about it here.
And as the Republican National Committee begins taking over the Tampa Bay Times Forum today to begin loading in all that's required for next month's convention, it was learned on Friday that the Coast Guard won't be allowing for any protests out in Garrison Channel, where presumably maritime activists could have carried signs demonstrating their feelings about the GOP delegates attending the convention.
