Good Wednesday morning. If no one else is going to write it, we will: The referees and judges in a number of sports, from basketball to soccer to diving to gymnastics, are killing us. Are they watching the same games we are?

Whose idea was it to wait so late for vice presidential picks? Should the operating theory be that the picks have been made and that timing is the only issue? And no matter what he says, Colin Powell is still having trouble shooting down Bill Kristol-spread rumors that he will show up in Denver to endorse Barack Obama.

Today On The Trail: John McCain is in Colorado today, where he sits down with Aspen Institute CEO and author Walter Isaacson. Meanwhile, President Bush spends part of his morning at CIA headquarters in Langley, where he will be briefed on progress in the war on terror and on the situation in Georgia.