Washington is abuzz with speculation that this year's Republican presidential hopeful, George W. Bush, may be about to bury the hatchet and choose Senator John McCain as his running mate, perhaps as early as this weekend.
Mr McCain is among a number of senior Republicans who have been asked to remain available for phone calls from Mr Bush this weekend, as the Texas governor prepares to announce who will accompany him to the Republican convention in Philadelphia on July 31st.
Whether he is in fact willing to take a chance on Mr McCain remains a closely guarded secret, but that has done nothing to dampen the sudden surge of speculation that he may pull a spectacular surprise.
Mr McCain appeared to rule himself out as a running mate after Mr Bush defeated him in the frequently bitter primary struggle in March. When they finally met in private in Pittsburgh two months ago, Mr McCain repeated that he did not wish to be considered, and Mr Bush has said that he takes his former rival at his word.
But Mr McCain appears to have done a spectacular about-face in recent days, and his supporters are making an 11th-hour lobbying effort to have his name added to the ticket - a step that would undoubtedly alarm conservative Republicans, to say nothing of the Democratic challenger, Mr Al Gore.
The speculation seems to have been triggered by a phone call on Tuesday to Mr McCain from Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, himself a leading candidate for the job. He urged Mr McCain to take the number two position on the Republican ticket if it was offered.
He made it clear he was not speaking on Mr Bush's behalf. "You know me, Tommy. If the governor asked me, you know I would serve. I would prefer not to, but I'll serve," Mr McCain was reported as saying.
"If Bush were to make a case, he would do it, but he prefers not to be asked," a McCain adviser told the Washington Post.
Reports of that conversation were quickly followed by the news that Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia, leader of the Republican effort to keep control of the house in November's elections, was circulating a petition in support of drafting Mr McCain. He sees the Arizona senator as a trump card in the battle for swing voters.
Campaign officials have hinted several times this week that Mr Bush may announce his choice on Monday, a week before the convention, to maximise the media coverage.