 The speculation that Tim Pawlenty is a contender for the VP slot on John McCain's presidential ticket has bubbled for months. I've been a skeptic, but developments in recent days make it seem that, despite Pawlenty's repeated pledges that he would serve out his second term as governor, he is, in fact, running for veep.
Yesterday, the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reported on a Washington fundraiser for Pawlenty attended by many Republican movers and shakers, including key McCain advisers. Although he has not committed to running in 2010, the vetoist-in-chief raised a tidy $46,000 for his gubernatorial campaign. Ambinder notes Pawlenty's relatively low profile, writing, "If he's angling for the job, he's doing it quietly," but the report is sure to stir up the Pawlenty-as-VP talk once again.
Another, subtler signal that Pawlenty may be preparing himself for a spot on the ticket is today's veto of a resolution urging the federal government to end sanctions against Cuba. MPR's Tom Scheck, citing the legislative librarian, notes that it is extremely rare for a governor to veto a symbolic resolution. Pawlenty's explanation for his veto is his belief that "the federal government, not state legislatures, should address foreign policy matters." But this nearly unprecedented action makes more sense when viewed as a play for electoral votes. The Cuban-American voting bloc in Florida, which generally supports sanctions against the Castro regime, is critical to obtaining the prize of the swing state's 27 electoral votes. Pawlenty seems to have wanted to avoid the political risk of signing such a resolution, even if it is merely symbolic.
For me, these two events signal that our governor is, indeed, seeking to join McCain's ticket in the fall. The Washington fundraiser is part of Pawlenty's long campaign to raise his profile among national Republicans. As a co-chair of McCain's campaign for president, he has traveled across the country to campaign for his candidate. Also, Pawlenty holds the high-profile chairmanship of the National Governors Association.
The vetoing of the Cuba resolution, small as it may seem, is part of Pawlenty's recent attempt to finesse his gubernatorial record to make him attractive to the Republican electorate. In February, the Star Tribune wondered if Pawlenty's executive order cracking down on illegal immigrants was meant to burnish his image as a hard-line anti-illegal immigration crusader. Pawlenty's grandstanding vetoes of the transportation bill and the Central Corridor project, while disastrous as public policy, might boost his appeal to fiscal conservatives.
However, it is not clear that Pawlenty's apparent attempt to gain the vice-presidential nomination will pay off. Read below the jump for my reasoning.
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