AN OLYMPIC GAMES HIATUS.

SATURDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Barack Obama kept everyone waiting on Friday -- but still no VP pick. Joe Biden and Chet Edwards are both among those names still believed to be in play. Most now believe Biden will be the VP candidate. NBC reports Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine were among those who received calls from Obama informing them they will not be the runningmate.

FRIDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Barack Obama made a VP announcement on Thursday: "I know something you don't know" (well, maybe I'm slightly misquoting him, but this is basically what he said) ... John McCain and Obama exchanged jabs over their respective homes. One (albeit big) for Obama, and seven (or maybe eight) for McCain. McCain wasn't quite sure how many he has ... McCain also told Politico he is absolutely "not considering" making a single-term pledge.

THURSDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) died unexpectedly Wednesday at age 58, less than a day after suffering a brain aneurysm while driving to a meeting. Party leaders will select a replacement nominee -- likely next month -- to fill her safely Democratic CD-11 seat ... Also, we updated our Wyoming and Washington pages to reflect the primary winners from Tuesday ... And nothing new on the VP front from either camp.

WEDNESDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Some rain, some wind, some waves ... Fay was rather slow and boring (which was okay, compared with the 2005 hurricanes) ... and nothing new on the VP front besides lots of conflicting rumors. Also, here's something new: click here to view our Ballot Access Chart to see which Presidential candidates are on the ballot in your state (note: keep in mind filing is still open in some states).

MONDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. While Hurricane Fay is expected to sweep up and strike the gulf coast side of the Florida, those of us here on the Atlantic coast are expected to experience tropical storm conditions on Monday night/Tuesday daytime. Just some heavy winds (under 40 mph) and lots of rain for us, so no big deal really.

FRIDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Another day, another open thread.

THURSDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Arkansas Democratic Chair Bill Gwatney was shot and killed on Wednesday after a gunman burst into state party headquarters. The shooter was later killed by police following a high-speed chase ... John McCain launched a trial balloon in an interview with the Weekly Standard when he said he would now possibly be open to selecting a pro-choice VP runningmate like Tom Ridge, but said he couldn't go so far as to consider Mike Bloomberg because the NYC Mayor is just too staunchly pro-gay rights.

WEDNESDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Yup, your turn again.

TUESDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. Tuesday is congressional primary day in Colorado and Nevada ... Russia's military invasion drives deeper into Georgia ... Bush returns to the White House ... and the Olympic games continue.

MONDAY FREE SPEECH ZONE. It's all about you.;

WEEKEND FREE SPEECH ZONE. Have at it.

FREE SPEECH ZONE. With the Olympics starting on Friday, it means most political news will take a back seat for a little while. The Obama family is going off on vacation, and I'd guess that John and Cindy McCain will also sneak off for a little down time. Unless some major political news breaks, I'm just going to post daily open threads until the end of the games.

TENNESSEE. Thursday's primary in the Volunteer State saw another congressional incumbent defeated. In CD-1, former Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe defeated freshman Congressman David Davis in the GOP primary by vote of 50.2% to 49.2% -- and a slim margin of exactly 500 votes. A third candidate captured 0.6% and 325 votes. It was a rematch from the 2006 primary, when Davis edged Roe after several others from Roe's part of the district split his base. A third rematch in 2010 already seems likely. As for November, the seat is so reliably Republican that no Democrat has won it in over 130 years. In CD-7, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R) defeated Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood by a 2-to-1 margin. In CD-9, freshman Congressman Steve Cohen (D) won a surprisingly easy victory over attorney Nikki Tinker. Cohen, who is white, was expected to face a highly competitive Dem primary challenge his largely African-American district. Tinker was one of several black challengers two years ago who split the black vote, which enabled Cohen to win in the 2006 primary by a very slim plurality. On Thursday, by contrast, Cohen defeated Tinker by a 79% to 19% vote. In the US Senate race, former State Democratic Chair Bob Tuke defeated six rivals in his primary and will next face incumbent Lamar Alexander (R) in November.