WASHINGTON — Through a mix of marketing and campaign discipline, Barack Obama turned the selection of his running mate into a genuine drama.
For weeks, the Obama campaign kept silent about virtually every aspect of the process, with the candidate coyly telling reporters the other day that he had made up his mind -- and "wouldn't you like to know" exactly when he would tell the world?
Top campaign strategists and surrogates for Obama professed to know nothing about his intentions, the better to keep the mystery alive.
Obama's handling of the announcement is the latest example of his penchant for crafting big, attention-grabbing events out of what are normally predictable campaign steps.
Every presumptive nominee needs a No. 2. But Obama led the search in a way that kept the public focus squarely on himself while giving his campaign an organizational lift.
In a clever bit of salesmanship, the campaign invited people to "be the first to know" the name of Obama's choice, offering to send the news in a text message.
In return, people gave up their e-mail addresses and cellphone numbers -- data the campaign can use to mobilize turnout come election day. The campaign has declined to say how many people signed up.
But news that the No. 2 pick was Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. leaked before the text was sent.
For all the stagecraft, some Democratic Party veterans warned that Obama's efforts could backfire if the vice presidential choice turned out to be a familiar name -- as it did. Voters might decide that Biden didn't warrant the extended drumroll of the last few days.
Then there is the risk that Obama will be seen as overly consumed with campaign theatrics. His Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, is already portraying Obama as a shallow celebrity. Obama's trip overseas -- another example of how his campaign constructed an attention-getting moment -- may have played into such perceptions.
There is nothing unusual about a presidential candidate traveling abroad. McCain also went overseas after clinching the nomination.
But Obama turned the trip into a signature moment of his campaign, a test of his ability to hold his own with world leaders.
Network anchors covered the journey with an intensity that left the McCain campaign envious. The emotional apex was Obama's speech to a huge crowd in Berlin, some waving flags handed out by Obama aides.
