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(DENVER) With several hours yet before the Democratic convention kicks off, John McCain’s campaign is taking advantage of the calm before tonight’s big event to find ways to insert itself into the media spotlight.

McCain’s campaign announced it will air a new ad tonight in which he will speak on-camera directly to Democratic nominee Barack Obama. The campaign will not comment on the substance of the ad but McCain communications director Jill Hazelbaker told MSNBC this morning it is a “historic” ad. “I think this is the first of its kind,” Hazelbaker said. “Senator McCain is going to speak direct to camera to Barack Obama. I’m not going to give away many more details than that. But suffice to say it’s going to be a very exciting ad, and I think it’s going to get a lot of attention.”

Meanwhile, speculation continues to swirl over the timing of McCain’s vice presidential announcement. The campaign indicated that they would not roll out the pick today but the Drudge Report cites sources saying that the news will be leaked this evening. And as the chase begins to pick up, the potential selections are going to ground. Even if McCain’s choice remains secret, the flurry of activity has provided McCain an opportunity to become a part of the story in Denver.

Sen. John McCain has chosen his running mate, whom he will notify on Thursday, a senior McCain campaign official told The Politico’s Mike Allen.

McCain is planning to roll out his VP choice in a large rally in Dayton, Ohio, at noon on Friday, followed by join appearances in Pennsylvania and Missouri, sources said.

Over the past few days, the media’s focus has been narrowed to three potential options for McCain: former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.

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With just two weeks to go until the Democratic vice presidential candidate is scheduled to speak at the convention in Minneapolis, it's crunch time for the VP wannabes.

On this week's "Face The Nation," the stakes couldn't be higher for Evan Bayh and Tim Pawlenty, who hold down the top slots on the latest CBSNews.com Democratic and Republican VP hot sheets. When Bayh and Pawlenty square off, they'll spend most of their time talking about Barack Obama and John McCain, but the implications of their CBS News appearances are clear: this is a final tryout for the two top VP contenders.

If Bayh and/or Pawlenty shines on television this Sunday, it may very well be enough to give either man the VP nod. But if either vice-presidential prospect stumbles, Obama or McCain could decide to look elsewhere for someone who's up to the task of performing under pressure on the national stage.

Perhaps in a lesson in how not to position oneself for a vice presidential selection, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty had words of praise for Democratic Barack Obama in a speech to conservative activists in the Washington area today.

Speaking to the GOPAC, Pawlenty said, “say what you will about Barack Obama … people gravitate when you have something positive to say." Pawlenty added that John McCain has also been positive thus far, according to the AP. "People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders," Pawlenty continued. "They don't want to follow some negative, scornful person."

Pawlenty has been high on the list of names being speculated about as possible running mates for McCain (he’s currently ranked 2nd on our GOP VP Hot Sheet). But traditionally, one of the primary tasks for the running mate is to spearhead criticism of the opposition and anything that resembles praise could be an impediment to that (can’t you just see the Obama ad using Pawlenty’s words?) Another primary requirement for a running mate is the ability to stay on a message and this may be seen as Pawlenty stepping off of it a bit.

Weekend revelations that Congressman Eric Cantor has been asked to provide information to John McCain’s campaign has catapulted the relatively unknown Virginian up and onto the list of potential candidates on the CBSNews.com GOP VP Hot Sheet.

Cantor is a favorite of conservatives McCain would like to shore up in advance of his convention and, at 45, would bring some youthful exuberance to the ticket. But tapping him would also require a mammoth introductory roll-out by the campaign at a time when the bulk of the attention should be on the top of the ticket. After all of the talk of Barack Obama’s interest in Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, this boomlet has a reactionary feel to it.

Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty continue to top the GOP list and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina cracks the top ten after the buzz surrounding her possible selection continues. If McCain wants to make an overture to women voters who feel slighted by Hillary Clinton’s primary defeat and bolster his economic credentials, Fiorina appears to be the front-runner. Meanwhile, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin slips to the number ten spot after the state legislator appointed a special investigator to look into allegations that she used her office to try and fire her former brother in-law. For all the latest buzz, check out the GOP VP Hot Sheet.

Recent developments on the campaign trail have led changes at the top of both VP Hot Sheets today.

On the Democratic side, former Hillary Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson told Fox News that she is not current being vetted by her former rival for the spot. But note that he also pointed out that Clinton wouldn’t have to be vetted and that she would be a "great addition" to the ticket.

"I’m not aware of any formal (vetting) process," Wolfson, a Fox News contributor, said. "But, you know, Hillary Clinton has been vetted during the last 18 months… The Obama campaign is obviously very familiar with her record and background. She’s in many respects the most vetted person in America over the last 30 years, so I think that they probably have a pretty good sense of a lot of the information they need to make a decision about her."

With Clinton's fall, Kathleen Sebelius rises to the top of the Democratic list, for the moment at least. The buzz is with the Kansas governor of whom Obama recently said: "I love Kathleen Sebelius. I think she is as talented a public official as there is right now." She also is no longer denying that the campaign is vetting her, according to Congressional Quarterly.

In other news, Sen. Chris Dodd, a former Democratic candidate, admitted it in an interview with the Associated Press that he is being vetted by the campaign. "There's been some inquiries, yeah," he said. "They ask for a lot of stuff. I'll leave it there."

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and McCain's rival for the nomination, returns to the top, emerging as a heavy favorite at this stage of the game. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, the former leader, appeared with McCain in Minnesota yesterday, but also indicated he was not currently being vetted. (his exact words: "I'm not aware that I'm under consideration.")

CBS News chief political consultant Marc Ambinder reports Pawlenty is still under consideration and will be vetted soon enough, but the buzz right now is definitely with Romney.

Be sure to check out all the changes to both CBSNews.com vice presidential hot sheets here: Democrats | Republicans

There has been some movement at the top of the CBSNews.com Republican VP Rankings with Tim Pawlenty taking over the top spot on the Hot Sheet from Mitt Romney. The move comes not because Romney has done anything to hurt his chances but is instead a reflection of the fact that the hype surrounding Pawlenty has never been higher.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is also generating new buzz, while Tom Ridge slips a bit in the new rankings.

Click here to check out the updated Republican VP Hot Sheet.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty did what he could to try and tamp down speculation that he’s a front-runner to be John McCain’s running mate. Pawlenty told reporters this week that he doesn’t expect it. "I'm honored to have my name mentioned,” Pawlenty said according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “The fact is, I haven't been asked, and I don't expect to be asked." And today, Pawlenty told reporters that the McCain campaign has not asked him for any information, something that’s required during the vetting process, reports the AP. Pawlenty also said he has not talked to McCain or anyone at the campaign about the second slot.

The vice presidential guessing game has, of course, been well underway for quite some time now. But it’s about to move into a new phase has summer approaches and the vetting process for both candidates begins.

To help negotiate the rumor mill, the unending speculation and the volume of names already circulating for “the lists,” CBSNews.com today launches the Republican version of a new Vice Presidential Hot Sheet. We’ve compiled a lengthy list of potential candidates and ranked the top ten based on media speculation, buzz, reporting and not a little bit of guesswork. It’s not an authoritative or exhaustive list but it will be a dynamic one, changing based on events and developments.

To kick things off, it’s helpful to look at the kinds of qualities John McCain is likely looking for in a running mate. Because age will certainly be an issue in the campaign, perhaps one of the most important considerations is competence. Making a “Quayle” pick, someone unknown and untested, may not be the best way to go. The first rule of thumb in these decisions is “do no harm,” after all.

Then other tangibles come into play. McCain has admitted that the economy, the issue voters cite as their top concern, is not his strong suit, so someone with that on their resume could add heft to the ticket. Although he’s already proven the ability to transcend the Republican brand and distance himself from an unpopular president, McCain may want to pick someone who doesn’t carry the baggage of years in Washington. And, of course, there are those electoral considerations – can any choice bring him a key state or regional appeal?

Obviously there are many other parts of the equation, including ideology, loyalty and chemistry. And there is a vetting process that will go a long way toward whittling the list that could boost or eliminate individual candidates. That leaves us with a great, big guessing game as the process goes forward, so without further ado, here are the five candidates topping the inaugural edition of our Republican Vice Presidential Hot Sheet:

1). Mitt Romney: Wounds from the primaries have healed thanks to Romney's efforts to raise money and campaign for McCain. He's got the economic chops to fill a hole and could help in Michigan. But is the chemistry there?

2). Tim Pawlenty: Young, fresh face of the GOP, a Washington outsider and the governor from the battleground state which hosts McCain's convention. Is he ready for to be a heartbeat away?

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During the 2000 presidential campaign, Dick Cheney headed up the search for George W. Bush's running mate – and eventually settled on himself.

The person running the vice presidential search for presumptive GOP nominee John McCain won't have that option – since, the Chicago Tribune reports, it's McCain himself who's handling the job.

The Tribune reports that McCain advisor Charlie Black said during a lunch with reporters that McCain is "the chairman of the selection committee."

"He is thinking about names," Black said. "He's not talking to any of us about that." The advisor also said McCain had set no timetables for the search.

One of the people thought to be a favorite for the slot, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, recently distanced himself from McCain's comments that last summer's Minneapolis bridge collapse occurred "because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects." McCain subsequently backed off those comments.