Yeah, the McCain camp is whining a whole bunch about some sort of media favoritism towards Obama. (Funny they never whined when the media was leading news segments with Jeremiah Wright every night.) There’s a bit of indication that the Obama domination of the news cycle, which is deserved, given the historic nature of his tour of the Middle East and Europe, is rattling the McCain camp something fierce. Indeed, there are some indications that the McCain camp is priming itself to make a move out of sheer panic in order to recapture the news cycle.

The NY Times has an article about the Obama dominance of the news cycle this morning. It’s pretty funny the contrast in the coverage these guys are getting this week. Here’s the lead paragraphs in the Times story:

It wasn’t a television blackout of John McCain; it was worse: split-screen contrasts that at times made it seem as if Barack Obama was on a state visit while back home his opponent chafed at the perks and privileges of an incumbent commander in chief.

On Tuesday, Mr. McCain held a town hall-style meeting in Rochester, N.H. In the shadow of the ancient Temple of Hercules in Amman, Jordan, Mr. Obama solemnly described his vision for peace in the region while standing at a lectern, the Middle East sprawling out behind him. Reporters were cordoned in front of him like the White House press corps — except that an audio snag kept their questions inaudible.

All three cable news networks carried Mr. Obama’s news conference live and in full. They showed only parts of Mr. McCain’s forum and focused mostly on his reaction to Mr. Obama’s statements. Even Fox News broke away from Mr. McCain midevent to cover the rescue of a bear cub wounded in a California fire and nicknamed Lil’ Smokey.

The Times noted the McCain people bitterly complaining. I suppose getting upstaged by a bear cub will make anyone bitter. But there are signs, as I said, that the McCain camp is getting desperate as well. For instance, part of the big Obama attraction over the weekend had to do with al-Maliki agreeing with him on a 16 month timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. McCain’s people actually said yesterday that they could beat that by 4 months. It’s like some game to them, I think. Actually, this is desperation that likely made Heather Wilson, a McCain surrogate, misspeak. She insisted there were not timetables or anything, just a withdrawal from Iraq faster than that proposed by Obama.

The big desperation move, reportedly, is that the McCain campaign is going to announce its Vice Presidential selection, and it is said to be a “bold choice.” At least according to George Stephanopoulos at ABCNews:

“I think that Senator McCain and his team will try to counter [the Obama trip] later with more interviews and are even suggesting there’s some kind of surprise coming this week,” Stephanopoulos said.

“The surprise is that John McCain is going to announce [his running mate],” he said.

The McCain camp has hinted they want to “scramble the jets” with the Republican’s running mate choice — meaning a “bold choice,” according to Stephanopoulos.

McCain, R-Ariz., may also be trying grab the spotlight simply by teasing the public, suggested Stephanopoulos, who said that a running mate announcement this week is “conceivable, not likely.”

No, it shows no leadership or stature to panic and reveal a decision so momentous as a Vice Presidential selection before the time is right, but it appears the McCain camp just may do so in order to blunt the huge coverage Barack Obama is getting on his overseas trip. It is a move born of panic. No, it isn’t just whining anymore on the Republican side, though there’s still a whole bunch of that. Now we’re seeing panic. To panic in late July is simply not a smart move.