Veep flavor of the week: Pawlenty?
There are some indications that Tim Pawlenty could be close to becoming John McCain’s running mate on the November presidential ticket . . . and that’s good news for the Republican Party.
The Minnesota governor has a blue-collar upbringing that he embraces — campaigning for governor, he coined the phrase “Sam’s Club conservatism.” At 47, he could off-set some of the young Obama, old McCain stigma. And, while he wouldn’t make the disgruntled evangelical conservative base anxious to run out and vote for McCain, he wouldn’t hurt McCain’s chances in that sector, either.
In policy, Pawlenty is a moderate. Too moderate, some say; A Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this year criticized him as too liberal to be McCain’s running mate. And, to be sure, he has some traits that some conservatives won’t like. For one, he’s been quoted as saying that the era of small government is over. And he’s an environmentalist, going so far as to say that former President Jimmy Carter was right on environmental issues.
But he’s also the most conservative governor in the Land of 10,000 Lakes since the 1920s, according to Minnesota political pundits. And he has conservative values to go with his more moderate tint. He was elected on a platform of balancing the state’s $4 billion plus budget deficit without raising taxes . . . and he succeeded.
The GOP convention is slated for Minnesota later this summer, and having Pawlenty on the ticket would add some enthusiasm to the convention. Pawlenty could also bring some enthusiasm to the campaign as a whole. And, perhaps most important, Pawlenty maintains a good approval rating among Minnesotans . . . which could help McCain pull off what would be an upset over Obama in a key swing state.