[Vision2020] Minnesota governor told he isn't McCain's VP pick, sources say

[Tom Hansen]

>From CNN -

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Minnesota governor told he isn't McCain's VP pick, sources say

(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain's campaign has told Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty 
he will not be the GOP vice presidential nominee in November, sources told 
CNN on Friday. 

Pawlenty on Friday also told WCCO Radio in Minneapolis-St. Paul that he 
will not be in Dayton, Ohio, where the presumptive Republican presidential 
nominee is expected to unveil his choice of a running mate at a rally 
later Friday.

The McCain campaign said it's hoping to have 15,000 people at the Ohio 
event, roughly five times the size of his largest crowd to date.

A Republican source said McCain settled on his choice of a running mate at 
a meeting of his advisers Wednesday.

Thursday night's arrival of a private jet from Alaska at the Middleton, 
Ohio, airport raised speculation that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be 
McCain's pick. Middleton is 25 miles from Dayton. 

Rich Bevis, an airport manager at the Middleton airport, said that a 
woman, two men and two teenagers were onboard. 

"This is the most secretive flight we've ever had," Bevis said.

In June, Palin told CNN that she thought McCain should choose a governor 
as his running mate and that she would like to serve on a national 
level, "but I don't think it's going to happen on this go-round though."

In an interview with a Pennsylvania radio station that was taped Wednesday 
and aired Thursday, McCain said he had not settled on a nominee. The 
Associated Press reported that the interview with KDKA radio had occurred 
Thursday, which created confusion as to whether McCain had finalized his 
choice for vice president.  Watch who is on McCain's shortlist »

Asked whether either former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge or former 
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was his VP pick, McCain replied to KDKA, "I 
haven't decided yet, so I can't tell you."

Both men are expected to join McCain at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania.

Ridge, who is also the former secretary of homeland security, is 
reportedly on McCain's shortlist of possible running mates.

A Republican insider said this month that McCain campaign manager Rick 
Davis has called several state party chairmen and indicated that Ridge 
will be the Republican vice presidential pick this cycle.

During his interview with KDKA, McCain praised Ridge, saying, "He's a 
great American and a great and dear friend, and I rely on him, and I have 
for many years."

But the possibility that Ridge could be McCain's running mate sparked a 
backlash among conservatives because he supports abortion rights.

Another potential VP pick, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, also 
raised concerns among conservatives. Lieberman, an independent senator who 
was the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, has been a vocal 
supporter of the war in Iraq, but he, too, backs abortion rights.

If McCain picks either man, it could drive away social conservatives who 
are already uneasy about his nomination, conservative activists warned.

In an open letter to McCain, conservative activist Richard A. Viguerie 
wrote, "Your indication that you're willing to put a person who has a 
clear, unequivocal pro-abortion record within a heartbeat of the 
presidency is alarming."

"Sen. McCain, you are exceedingly proud of being a political maverick -- 
you wear it as a badge of honor. Well, poke the base of the Republican 
Party -- the conservatives -- in the eye one more time by choosing a pro-
abortion vice presidential candidate, and conservatives will show you that 
two can play the maverick game," Viguerie said.

Romney ran against McCain this year for the GOP presidential nomination 
and was a frequent critic of the senator on the campaign trail.

But Romney endorsed McCain after he captured the Republican nomination and 
has campaigned for him. He also opposes abortion rights, a position he 
said he came to in 2004 after studying the stem cell-issue as 
Massachusetts governor. Before then, Romney was in favor of abortion 
rights.

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Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college 
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)


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