Will Romney Pick Pawlenty??

I bragged in 2008 of going 2 for 2 in predicting VP picks, and I sorta did; jumping on the Biden bandwagon when it was becoming increasingly obvious that Obama had figured out how to double his profile on Saturday Night Live, and suggesting that McCain might want to look at Palin (that's kind of a prediction, right?) to shake up the race, which is what he did.

My chances of going 2-2 in this election cycle are excellent--I am confident that Biden will once again be on the Dem. ticket. And I think there's about a one-in-three chance that former MN Governor Tim Pawlenty will be the pick of Mitt Romney.

It's a rather astonishing turn of events. Pawlenty fell off everyone's radar rather quickly after his presidential campaign sputtered to a halt in Iowa. Pawlenty was doing OK until he coined the term "Obamneycare" and then, inexplicably, refused to stand behind it during a debate (see below). Not having the courage of your convictions is a fatal flaw in politics, and there was much debate over why Pawlenty would back down so meekly and quickly over what was actually a pretty accurate description.

I know, I'm always complaining about conspiracy theories, but I just can't help but wonder, did Romney's people get to Pawlenty in between his comment and the debate? Did they promise, well, something??

Oh, probably not. It would make a great story, though. More likely Romney just likes the cut of TPaw's jib. Pawlenty is actual quite a good media person, he seems like a likable guy, he's smart and, on occasion, funny. He does well with evangelical voters. He won't deliver Minnesota, but those type of VP coattails are probably overrated. Yes, he's a boring white guy, but he's a nice boring white guy, and BWGs are pretty obviously all Romney's going to seriously consider anyway.

I mean, when your competition is Bobby Jindal and Rob Portman, you've got to like your chances, right?

Romney/Pawlenty 2012. Has a nice ring to it.