Throw another veep on the barbie: Pawlenty not part of McCain weekend

Republican presidential nominee John McCain is hosting a group of political power couples for the Memorial Day weekend at his home in Sedona, Ariz. The list includes several potential McCain runningmates — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — instantly sparking speculation among the media ranks.

The McCain campaign is denying that they will be vetting potential running mates over the weekend and says this is just a friendly get-together. Other notable McCain allies and invitees include Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The absence of our own potential McCain runningmate, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, has not gone unnoticed. Politico’s Johnathan Martin reports that Pawlenty was included on the original guest list in March, but will be unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Fred Thompson, hardly a vice-presidential front runner, was also a McCain guest in Sedona last month, suggesting that McCain may be more focused on maintaining party unity at this point than who his future running mate will be.