Minnesota’s Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, was runner-up (or close to it) in McCain’s VP search. I was certain that McCain would select him as his running mate (shows what I know — McCain really outsmarted all of us on that one).
Pawlenty is young, well spoken, and popular in a Democratic state. Had he been picked, McCain today might’ve been competitive in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. McCain knew better, of course, selected Sarah Palin and is today on the verge of a landslide loss, which, according to the polls, is due at least in part to Palin.
Today, Pawlenty appeared on CNN’s Late Edition. At about 6:44, note the word Pawlenty doesn’t use when asked whether the selection of Sarah Palin was a “mistake” (hint: it begins with “n” and ends with “o”):
“They’ll be debating that question for a long time.” A long, long time. During the Republican presidential primary in 2012, for example.
