WASHINGTON — Eager to counter the blanket media coverage that has followed Sen. Barack Obama on his overseas journey, Sen. John McCain is weighing whether to announce his running mate in the coming weeks before the spotlight shifts to China and the opening of the Olympic Games next month.

"He's in a position to make (the decision) on short notice if he wanted to," said Charlie Black, one of McCain's top political advisers.

Two top aides to the presumptive GOP nominee said the decision is likely to be announced after Obama returns from Europe on Sunday and before the Beijing Olympics begin on Aug. 8. They said the campaign fears that unanticipated events — whether in the form of athletic accomplishments or human rights protests — coming out of China could deflect attention from the announcement of a running mate if it was made during the games. The Olympics conclude the day before the Democratic nominating convention opens in Denver, and the GOP convention begins just four days after the Democratic gathering ends.

Aides to the most likely candidates to join McCain on the ticket, meanwhile, were offering terse "no comments" when asked whether they have been asked to provide documents that the McCain campaign can use to vet backgrounds.

The list of likely contenders includes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former U.S. budget director Rob Portman and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Asked several questions about the selection process, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom repeatedly would not comment. Representatives for Portman, Jindal and Pawlenty also would not say whether they had provided documents to McCain aides.

Ridge said he has had no conversations with McCain or his staff about serving as a running mate.

This year, McCain has tapped Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., the chairman of the Washington law firm O'Melveny & Meyers and a former counsel to Ronald Reagan, to oversee the selection of a running mate. Culvahouse has declined requests for comment.

Asked this week about Pawlenty, McCain again would not comment on the Minnesota governor's standing in the search.

Pawlenty was in Washington this week, conducting media interviews on behalf of McCain. Portman accompanied McCain to a fundraiser yesterday in Columbus, Ohio.

Jindal appeared on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" this week and said that he intends to remain governor of Louisiana.

Aides said Romney is this week vacationing with his family on the Ontario, Canada, side of Lake Huron.