VP or not VP: Pawlenty’s wife has taken to calling him “45″

Minnesota’s first couple jetted to D.C. to be feted at a fundraiser Wednesday, where VP talk bubbled over as freely as champagne and Gov. Tim Pawlenty picked up a trendy new nickname: “45″ — as in, 45th president of the United States.

The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder reports the host, former RNC chair Ken Mehlman, told the “200 Republican bold-faced names” in attendance he’d heard Mary Pawlenty call her husband “45.” The party, with co-hosts including former U.S. Rep. Vin Weber, raised $46,000 for Pawlenty’s campaign war chest.

“45.” It all sounds important and furtive and clandestine, doesn’t it? Speaking of which, it also sounds a little like the Get Smart remake that’s coming this summer, featuring a married couple who call each other “86″ and “99.”