Signs are pointing to Pawlenty as McCains VP.

[Lucky 13]

Huffington Post: "Tim Pawlenty: McCain's Vice President?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/01/tim-pawlenty-mccains-vice_n_116431.html

snip

AUG 28, 4:30 PM -- Pawlenty Clears His Schedule For The Weekend

Several sources have reported that Tim Pawlenty has cancelled his media appearances for the weekend, suggesting that he may be McCain's VP pick, to be announced either tonight or tomorrow. It's possible that McCain has asked this of all his potential vice presidential candidates and that we've only heard about Pawlenty at this point. More details as they become available...

snip

[book_worm]

1. Tweety won't be impressed. He has said several times that Pawlenty would be a "boring pick"

Biden will eat him alive in a debate.

[darius15]

2. Who gives a flying fuck?

Pawlenty is as boring as Evan Bayh. If it's not somebody earth shattering (Colin Powell), expect McCain to lose a few percent in the polls : just like Obama did when he did not pick Hillary.

[Left Is Write]

7. The people of Minnesota care.

My brother thinks that a Pawlenty choice would be partially intended to put Minnesota in the red column come election day, and he also thinks that will backfire bigtime.

[darius15]

10. Pawlenty can't bring MN himself

unless he was really really popular (which he's not). But there's the GOP convention in MN, and with Pawlenty as VP, it could put MN in play.

[Left Is Write]

16. No, he's not especially popular.

I agree with my brother that this tactic will not steer Minnesota to the red; according to him, most people understand that a vote for McCain equals a vote for Molnau as governor, and I gather that she's not especially popular either. As my brother put it, "God forbid McCain keels over dead and we end up with President Pawlenty AND Governor Molnau!"

[Barack_America]

3. Or maybe he got told "no" and decided, "then fuck this noise"...

:shrug:

[clear eye]

4. Better for us than Brownback n/t

[GoesTo11]

5. I checked youtube for him. Paints a pretty clear picture of him.

Every single video of him is just him talking about McCain. That seems to be the only thing he ever does. I can see why a vain guy like McCain would want an ass-kisser like Pawlenty as his running mate. I can't see what he brings to the ticket. We can hear McCain praise himself and we don't need a mirror-mirror to do the same. Not someone to worry about. He would be a fine pick - for the Democrats.

[Va Lefty]

6. Does this realistically put Minn. in play?

the last poll I saw had Obama up 5 in Minn. (47-42)

[darius15]

8. Yeah, I'd say Obama is up 5-6 in MN

But Pawlenty by himself can't bring MN. The VP bounce is generally small anyway, unless Pawlenty was EXTREMELY popular in MN, which he's not.

My worry is the Repub convention is in MN, and coupled with Pawlenty, MN could be a swing state.

[Bullet1987]

9. Is Pawlenty even popular in Minnesota?

[darius15]

13. I checked the Rasmussen archives

and found that their latest poll of MN was conducted on August 14th, and Obama was up by 4.

Here's the thing about Pawlenty:

Picking Minnesota’s Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty as his running mate might cost McCain more votes in the state than he will gain. Thirty-four percent (34%) of Minnesota voters say they are less likely to vote for the GOP candidate if Pawlenty is the vice presidential nominee, while 28% say it makes them more likely to vote for McCain. Thirty-five percent (35%) say it will have no impact on how they vote.

Nearly a third of unaffiliated voters (32%), however, say putting Pawlenty on the GOP ticket makes them less likely to vote for it, while 22% say it makes them more likely to vote for McCain.

[Left Is Write]

17. Not especially.

[Awsi Dooger]

28. A VP in a midsize state is typically worth 3-3.5 points

So yeah, this potentially puts Minnesota at risk. Still in our camp but something McCain could possibly pluck if he moved to even nationally.

I'm amazed more VP picks aren't strategic. The margin for error favors Obama and McCain might as well try to alter the electoral landscape.

A VP only influences his home state. Everywhere else it's virtually nil, not worth discussing. The Hillary situation had some potential to rescue her supporters but overall I think that was overstated.

In 2004, Kerry won Minnesota by 3.48% in a year with Bush winning nationally by roughly 2.5%. So that's the reference point, Minnesota blue by nearly 6% compared to the nation as a whole. Obama might fare slightly worse than a generic Democrat in Minnesota and McCain somewhat better than a typical Republican but that stuff is vague.

Minnesota in the 2006 exit poll was 25% liberal, 30% conservative. That's exactly in the same range, 6% more Democratic than the nation. A favorite son VP shouldn't be enough, given those basics.

[Bozita]

11. Detroit teevee news just reported Mitt canceled his appointments for today and tomorrow.

Heard on www.wxyz.com

[Muttocracy]

14. so it could be one of them or neither. nt

[TheDoorbellRang]

19. Perhaps McCain told Pawlenty he was his choice

and then he forgot and called Mittens to tell him HE was his choice. :shrug:

Who knows. Maybe a whole bevy of veeps will show up in Dayton tomorrow. :silly:

[Left Is Write]

23. Maybe they'll have a Celebrity Veep Match.

[nomaco-10]

12. Figures. He's a wimpy, snotty, full of himself little bastard. n/t

[JBoy]

15. McCain looking for a Quayle?

[Bozita]

24. How about Larry Craig? He's admitted he's not gay. The religious right likes that kinda stuff!

[FatDave]

18. Wasn't he directly responsible for the bridge collapse?

Didn't he cut the funding for upkeep or something?

[FVZA_Colonel]

20. What happened to those reports of Romney getting Secret Service protection?

[DarthDem]

21. Yup

That's who it has to be. All this talk about pro-choice candidates for the slot and Mittens were just trial balloons, which trial balloons were shot down like a poorly piloted plane with McClown at the helm.

Tweety said yesterday that T-Paw's pick would be as exciting as "two puddles coming together." SO MUCH LOL!! Can this guy please continue the redemptive epiphany he obviously had while ill in the hospital? I for one am really glad he's come around.

[redqueen]

22. Yeah that's who I've been thinking he'd go for.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

25. Governor Bridge-Fall-Down-Go-Boom

ain't gonna help PODubya much here.

Someone called him the Repuke Evan Bayh and that, or the second coming of Quayle is pretty accurate.

Careerist Repig typical of this generation of Repigs. Sold out his legitimately working class roots to shill for fundies, corporations, etc. Virulently anti-choice.

That his nickname here is Timmeh the Tool pretty much says it all.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. ROFL!

Timmy the Tool is even more bland than Evan Bayh. What's more, he's not even very popular here -- he won re-election by only a tiny percentage, and only because the Dem who was running against him was kind of a douche who ran a poor campaign. And then there's the matter of that collapsing freeway bridge and Timmy's propensity to refuse to spend state money on infrastructure.

Joe Biden will eat Timmy for lunch.

[Left Is Write]

27. Mittens for breakfast and Timmeh for lunch...

Either way, Biden kicks ass.

It reminds me of that Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra sketch on SNL ("The Sinatra Group"): Hartman as Sinatra says to Sting as Billy Idol: "I'm not afraid of you. I've got chunks of guys like you in my stool!"

[jillan]

29. Is the press sitting in his driveway, watching his every move like they did for Biden?

I haven't heard that they are....

so....in other words ---

Yawn :P!