Mark Halperin has the video of Bob Novak backing off -- well, he disputes what he actually reported -- the notion that McCain will announce his VP choice this week.

"I've since been told by certain people that this was a dodge," says Novak, which aligns with what Chris Cillizza had written yesterday.

If that's the case, then it certainly worked, but probably will have a negative impact on McCain. The media loves nuggets like this, but it hates being duped intentionally.