Chet Edwards?

Pictured: Chet Edwards (maybe)

Even though all the talk about Obama's running mate has focused on Evan Bayh, Joe Biden and Tim Kaine, the AP is reporting that Texas Congressman Chet Edwards is a finalist.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential candidate Barack Obama is hours away from naming his running mate, as little-known Texas congressman Chet Edwards is emerging as a finalist. Democratic officials say that Edwards was one of the few Democrats whose background was checked by Obama's campaign, and he was a finalist for the job.

No way can this be real. But just in case it is, who is Chet Edwards? He's 56 years old, originally from Waco, and was first elected to represent Texas' 17th district in the House since 1990. The 17th includes Waco (home of Baylor University and it's mediocre football team,) College Station (home of Edwards' alma mater Texas A&M and it's mediocre football team with a bunch of annoying traditions) and Crawford (home of mediocre president George W. Bush.) He also doesn't have a known love child with a failed actress.

I don't see why Obama would select an unknown Congressman from a state he has no hope of carrying, so I don't think it's ultimately going to be Edwards. My money's on Tim Kaine.

Your possible next VP sure loves vetoing things

Tim Pawlenty

With Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal officially pulling his name from consideration to be John McCain's running mate, everyone's favorite amateur hockey player from Eagan has become the hot new favorite to win the McCain Veepstakes. McCain may have confirmed it during what he thought was a closed door meeting in New Hampshire, telling supporters they would "really like Pawlenty."

Adding fuel to the fire, Pawlenty has stopped taking questions from reporters on the possibility of him joining the McCain ticket, something neither he nor any of McCain's other potential running mates had done until now.

Non-Minnesotans may be wondering what the deal is with this guy. What is he like? How does he govern? Does he have a Fargo accent? In short, a sycophant, he tries not to and kind of. He set a new record for most vetoes in a single legislative session without ever testing positive for steroids. Before him, no governor in Minnesota history had ever vetoed a non-binding resolution; Pawlenty vetoed two in one year. It has earned him the nickname "Veto Corleone" (not really, I just made that up. Just now. Wouldn't it be corny if people really called him that, though?)

City Pages has a very fine piece that you can read here detailing all of T Paw's 34 vetoes from the last legislative session. Some highlights include vetoing a non-binding resolution that stated Minnesota's support for ending the Cuba trade embargo (a position he supported while running for re-election in 2006,) a bill that would allow state employees to take sick leave to care for spouses or parents who were ill, a bill that would have provided health insurance statewide to all K-12 public school teachers (currently, some rural districts can't give their teachers health benefits,) and a bill allowing cities and counties to make charitable grants.

While some of the vetoes mentioned were things you might expect a Republican governor to veto in a state with a Democrat-controlled legislature, a lot of these were bills that zipped through the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support.

For all the posturing he's done to get on McCain's good side, T Paw better be his choice for running mate.

Pawlenty says he's "not being vetted" by McCain

He has since trimmed the mullet

Ever since John McCain secured the Republican nomination, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has been talked about as a possible running mate. He's a moderate Republican (like McCain,) young (unlike McCain,) from a battleground state and he's been openly supporting McCain's bid for the White House since 2006. As the City Pages pointed out in this excellent piece last month, Pawlenty's even willing to change his long standing views to make himself a more attractive running mate.

Now he's saying that he's not even being considered for VP. HE told the Pioneer Press he doesn't know anything about a possible selection.

I'm not aware that I'm under consideration

If this isn't just spin, it would come as a shock that a guy touted as one of the favorites for months isn't even being considered anymore. My guess is spin is exactly what this is. I see you trying to downplay your chances, Tim. You're not slick.

A McCain/Romney ticket?

Mitt Romney is reportedly near the top of John McCain's list of potential running mates. The former Massachusetts governor and recent McCain rival is the one being talked about by GOP insiders, even though he and McCain ran a fairly bitter campaign against each other before Romney dropped out in February. Here's why McCain would be wise to consider him.

• He's still a big name. Romney raised his profile considerably during his presidential race and could offer McCain a higher bounce in the polls upon announcement of Romney as a running mate than a lesser known prospect, like Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty would.

• He's from Michigan. McCain's trying to take Michigan and other Rust Belt states that went for Kerry in 2004 away from the Democrats. Romney easily won Michigan's Republican primary, and picking Romney could make things tougher on Barack Obama in Midwestern swing states.

• Apparently, he "looks presidential."

Of course, there are also some reasons why he might not be such a good pick.

• He was a flop. Despite being one of the favorites to win the GOP nomination heading into 2008, Romney finished a disappointing third behind McCain and Mike Huckabee in the primaries. How much of a momentum boost can you get from a guy who squandered all of his and let a guy who was left for dead last summer and a guy who had less national name recognition than Tommy Thompson lap him in delegates?

• He's not winning any popularity contests in the South. Romney didn't do so well in Southern states during primary season, as evangelicals tended to favor Huckabee. Normally this wouldn't matter, as the South tends to go Republican regardless of who's running. But a big part of Obama's strategy is trying to pluck some southeastern states from the Republicans. Vrginia, Georgia and the Carolinas (with their combined 51 electoral votes) are suddenly being talked about as battleground states instead of surefire red states. McCain can't afford to lose any of them, and Romney's not going to help.

• It's too safe. McCain's trailing in the nationwide polls. He needs something between now and November that's going to energize undecided voters or possibly sway some Obama voters. Mitt Romney isn't going to do that. It's the political equivalent of calling a bunch of short running plays in order to grind out the clock in football. Sure it works when you're ahead. But McCain isn't ahead. He needs some trick plays.

In the end, I can't see McCain picking Romney to be his running mate. At least not if he wants to win.