CW: Biden pick hurts Pawlenty’s chances
As Gov. Pawlenty campaigns in two critical swing states, the conventional wisdom is that Barack Obama's pick of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate may thwart Pawlenty's chances to become John McCain's running mate. Even before the pick was announced, GOP consultant (and former McCain spokesman) said Biden will hurt Pawlenty.
His selection will probably finish off Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty's chances to be Mr. McCain's vice presidential nominee, since it's unlikely that Mr. McCain would send the relatively inexperienced Governor Pawlenty into a debate with Mr. Biden.
Politico's Mike Allen also wrote this about Pawlenty's chances.
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The officials say Sen. Barack Obama's choice of Sen. Joe Biden finished off any remaining chance for youthful Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to be on the GOP ticket. "Can you imagine what Biden would do to Pawlenty in the debate?" asked one top Republican.
"It would just be sad."
The L.A. Times says McCain may be forced to pick someone else.
Had Obama tapped a less experienced Democrat, such as Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, McCain might have been more likely to go with a fresh GOP face such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But some Republicans said privately that they were worried Biden might too easily dominate the vice presidential debate set for October and hoped McCain would opt for a steadier hand, such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.
Then again, neither Romney, who has backed abortion rights in the past, nor Ridge, who supports them now, has been embraced by the GOP's social conservative base.
The Hotline pondered whether it helps Romney's chances but said Pawlenty's roots could help him.
Where Romney would help McCain most, of course, is to help fill in the gaps for McCain on the economy. Who better to understand the details of the national economy than a successful businessman? In the wake of McCain's recent stumble over how many homes he actually owns, there's been some rumblings that Romney's wealth will be a drawback. Minutes after McCain's comments were published Democrats pounced on them in statements and, in Obama's case, with a TV ad. They'd have a field day profiling the two as the "elitist" ticket.
This would argue for Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty who comes from humbler roots ( he was the first in his family to graduate from college, for example) and can talk about his executive experience handling Minnesota's budget.
But who'd match up best against Biden, especially in a debate? Romney proved to be a solid debater during the primaries and is an accomplished attack dog. Pawlenty, meanwhile, has been on the national stage only as a peripheral player. His debut at a recent National Press Club outing got middling reviews.
For his part, Pawlenty criticized Obama for choosing someone with what greater foreign policy experience during stops here and here in PA.
He did, however, address Sen. Barack Obama's decision to choose Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as a running mate, telling a crowd of about 80 McCain supporters at the Westgate Mall, ''the commander-in-chief shouldn't have to get a mentor.''
Pawlenty called Obama for being ''a great orator when using a teleprompter,'' but said McCain's political and military experience is needed as president, which drew applause in the storefront dubbed ''Victory Headquarters.''
Pawlenty criticized Obama for saying at an April fundraiser in San Francisco that small-town Pennsylvanians are ''bitter'' and cling to guns and religion.
''It should concern you. John McCain doesn't think like that,'' he said.
Question of the day: What do you think this does to Pawlenty's chances?