Obama picks running mate; won’t say who

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – One mystery solved: Barack Obama said Thursday that he has decided on his running mate.

And that’s all you’re going to get.

Intent on extending the drama as long as possible, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would go no further. Nothing on whether his intended has been notified, or the also-rans let down easy. Nothing about when the union might be made official – although the plan was still that news would be texted to Obama supporters soon, and perhaps unveiled in the flesh at a Saturday extravaganza in Springfield, Ill.

Obama and his aides have kept a tight lid on the vice presidential selection process, declining to comment even as rumors boomeranged from one potential pick to another: Would it be Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, or someone else entirely?

The lid lifted slightly Thursday when Obama confirmed in a USA Today interview that he had come to a decision.

“I won’t comment on anything else until I introduce our running mate to the world,” he told the newspaper. “That’s all you’re going to get out of me.”

Of his options, Obama said, “We had some great choices.” He indicated he was not picking someone who would march in lock-step with him: “I want somebody who’s independent, somebody who can push against my preconceived notions and challenge me so we have got a robust debate in the White House.”