What we are learning and relearning about the VP pick

Former vice president Joe Biden might not pick his running mate until next week. While that might frustrate many in the media and in the Democratic Party, it is better to move deliberately than to make a blunder. That means letting some trial balloons pop. Over the past week or so, we have learned or relearned several basics about vice-presidential picking.

First, it is virtually impossible to discern if a contender is “rising” or “falling” or whether it is all spin from the contenders’ fans or detractors. The presidential candidate and only the candidate will make the pick; the other noise we hear is the sound of jockeying for influence. (That rarely works, yet aides, donors and activists persist in trying to boost or scuttle one candidate or another.) The best guide we have is Biden’s own comment that he has four African American women as finalists. Looking at those he has spent time with recently does not help much, since he has done events with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) as well as Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.).