The McCain campaign is gaming the system today, hinting broadly that McCain’s veep has been chosen and will be named tomorrow, or maybe today if the name “leaks.” Regardless of whether it leaks, and whether the leak is accidental or intentional, the media can’t help themselves and are reporting it. Which is, of course, the whole point.

I’m not crazy about McCain trying to rain on Obama’s big day, but that’s the way the game is played. It’s particularly hard to criticize the tactics when Hurricane Gustav seems intent on upstaging the Republican Convention next week.

As part of their let’s-fill-airtime-until-tonight effort, MSNBC just aired a new McCain ad titled “Convention Message,” set for release tonight. A classy, tasteful production, it’s a polite nod to the historical significance of Obama’s nomination before the Republicans “cry havoc and loose the dogs of war.”