VP or not VP: ‘the godfather of Sam’s Club conservatism’

Tim Pawlenty might not have made it to John McCain’s weekend veep-vetting barbeque. But New York Times columnist David Brooks analyzes the sweepstakes in today’s paper and finds former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman and Pawlenty to be the most sensible picks for John McCain. Brooks on T-Paw:

Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, is one of the G.O.P.’s leading and most likable modernizers. The son of a truck driver (his mother died when he was 16), he is the godfather of Sam’s Club conservatism, the effort to reconnect the party to the needs of the working class. Pawlenty could help McCain play the Theodore Roosevelt-style role — reforming the nation’s institutions to fit a new century and epoch.

Meanwhile, MSNBC has created a Veepstakes 2008 bracket. Pawlenty nabs a No. 1 seed! Can he knock off Lamar Alexander?