BOSTON - They say they have no idea whom they will be working for, but just as soon as Mitt Romney announces a running mate, 10 full-time staff members are ready to jump in to work for the No. 2.
They have prepared briefings on a full range of domestic and foreign policies, tailored to different styles for possible candidates: richly detailed or just-the-headline thoughts. With the date of the announcement a moving target, staff members update the planned roll out schedule for the candidate each day.
Last month the Romney campaign hired a director of operations for the vice-presidential candidate, Randy Bumps, a former political director for the Republican Senatorial Committee, and a communications d irector, Kevin Sheridan, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. It has since raided the office of Speaker John A. Boehner for a press secretary, Brendan Buck, and a policy expert, David Stewart.
The candidate is expected to spend a few days campaigning with Mr. Romney, then to chart a separate path.
As Mr. Romney begins a four-day bus trip on Saturday, speculation has ratcheted up over when the announcement will come. Will it be Saturday as he begins the trip, which takes him to the major media markets in four battleground states: Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio? Or is he allowing speculation to build and milking the attention for a few added days? In that case, will he announce on the final day, Tuesday? Or perhaps Wednesday?
Asked Friday for detail, Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser, said, “The governor keeps very close counsel,†adding he had “no guidance on that.â€
The campaign say s more than 200,000 people have downloaded an official app, “Mitt's VP,†which promises to push out the news the moment it is official.
A member of the vice-presidential staff in waiting said he hoped he would learn the choice before then - but he did not sound entirely confident.
