Back toward the end of May, when Barack Obama tapped Democratic èminence grise Jim Johnson to help him select a running mate, there was some dissension in the ranks from those who saw Johnson as a representative of the kind of old-style politics for which Obama claimed to be the antidote. (Johnson's role in helming the same process for presidential nominees John Kerry and Walter Mondale—neither exactly what you'd call a success—was also remarked upon.) Still, the candidate refused to comment.