Now for a pop quiz. What will the main media story about John McCain be on Tuesday after the long Memorial Day break?
If you guessed John McCain's limited health disclosure, Cindy McCain's limited tax disclosure, or the meaning of the supposed maverick's failed pandering to madmen ministers Hagee and Parsley, you're probably wrong.
By taking a page from the Bush playbook, McCain's Friday document - and pastor - dump virtually guaranteed that Tuesday's tale will the be the gathering of potential VP hopefuls at the Arizona Senator's Sedona estate. Dispensing with all of his bad news and baggage just before the media's Memorial weekend nap, John McCain wants inquiring minds focused on something else next week.
That something is McCain's barbeque and shin dig featuring potential Republican running mates Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Governor and GOP rival Mitt Romney. While senior McCain strategist Charlie Black declared "It's a purely social weekend and has nothing to do with the vice presidential selection process," that is of course exactly what is about.
Which means the press coverage on Tuesday will be a combination of the finals of American Idol and The Bachelor. Is America ready for vice president Jindal, a Hindu turned Catholic young enough to be John McCain's grandson? Will the right-wing whisper campaign about which side of the plate Charlie Crist swings from become a shouting match? Will John McCain bond with Mitt Romney, a man desperate to be his #2 despite having previously attacked McCain over his out-of-control temper? Was former Arkansas Mike Huckabee excluded from the barbeque because his extremist social views would damage John McCain's rapid move the center, or due to his predilection for fried squirrel?
No doubt, McCain needed to change the topic after his week that was. After five lobbyists resigned from the McCain campaign, Mr. Straight Talk's commitment to transparency was called into question. His restricted access to his medical records combined with Mrs. McCain's belated release of her two-page IRS tax summary only served to make matters worse. And after McCain rejected the endorsements of ministers Hagee and Parsley he previously sought, Americans learned that his upcoming Phoenix fundraiser with President Bush had to be moved to a smaller venue due to lagging ticket sales.
But by Tuesday, those stories will likely fade into campaign history. By then, we'll be focused on more pressing headlines, like "Romney or Crist: Who Has Best Veep Hair?"