I’d forgotten writing this. But TPM Reader MU just sent me this post I wrote on July 28th, 2004, describing watching Barack Obama’s keynote address from the convention floor.

John McCain’s running mate will be announced today — and it isn’t Romney or Pawlenty. That and other political news in today’s Election Central Morning Roundup.

Seems pretty clear now that John McCain is about to pick an outside the box contender for veep. At least if it’s true, as now appears to be confirmed that it’s not Pawlenty or Romney. Earlier in the week we picked up a supposedly good tip that Colin Powell was being actively vetted. The rumor got mentioned on CNN as well. But Powell’s spokesperson told us definitively it wasn’t true.

Late Update: ABC seems to have it confirmed that Sarah Palin is still in Alaska. And that’s a long plane ride unless they’re going to go supersonic from Achorage to Dayton.

Later Update: On second thought, the ABC report strikes me as soft.

From the McCain Store …

(ed.note: Special ‘Is Our Children Learning’ edition.)

Late Update: The McCain folks appear to have corrected the punctuation.

So now we’ve learned that Sarah Palin is McCain’s choice for vice presidential nominee. I have to say, it’s a daring pick but I think a very weak one. I’m perfectly happy with it. Palin is in the midst of a reasonably serious scandal in her home state. Her brother-in-law is a state trooper who is in the midst of an ugly custody battle with her sister. And she’s accused of getting the state police to fire him. Recently she was forced to admit that one of her aides had done this, though she insists she didn’t know.

Next, John McCain’s central and best argument in this campaign is that Barack Obama simply lacks the experience to be President of the United States. And now John McCain, who is a cancer survivor who turns 72 years old today, is picking a vice presidential nominee who has been governor of a small state for less than two years and prior to that was mayor of a town with roughly one-twenty-seventh of the constituents that Barack Obama represented when he was a state senator in Illinois.

Whatever you think of Barack Obama’s qualifications to be President, Palin is manifestly less qualified. And that undermines the central premise of McCain’s campaign.

Yes she does have foreign policy experience, says Fox’s Steve Doocy. Alaska is right next to Russia!!!

As mentioned earlier, Gov. Palin is embroiled in her own trooper-gate scandal up in Alaska. In short, she’s accused of using her pull as governor to get her ex-brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. The brother-in-law is embroiled in an ugly divorce and custody with Palin’s sister. And after his boss wouldn’t fire the brother-in-law, she fired the boss. Palin originally insisted there was nothing to the story. More recently, she was forced to admit the one of her top deputies had pushed to get the guy fired.

Here’s one our recent reports on the story. And we’ll be bringing you an updated report shortly.

Here’s the local TV news report …

Ad featuring scandal-plagued Ted Stevens endorsing Sarah Palin for governor in 2006 mysteriously vanishes from her campaign Web site.

Fournier’s take on Palin: “Analysis: Palin’s age, inexperience rival Obama’s“