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VP or not VP - Latest Stories

T-Paw loses spot on GOP ‘influencers’ list, but caption contest has a winner

By Chris Steller | 05.08.09 | 1:31 pm

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is no longer swimming at the deep end with the Republican Party’s top 10 ‘influencers,” says The Fix. But he had another visit from the person in the fish suit during his radio show today —…

Steele preferred Palin to Pawlenty on McCain’s 2008 presidential ticket

By Chris Steller | 04.20.09 | 7:29 am

steele-palin-sequence2Michael Steele, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee, says he preferred Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as the party’s nominee for vice president last year. He didn’t say who he likes for president…

“Pawlenty 2012!”: All over but the shouting on ‘The McLaughlin Group’?

By Chris Steller | 03.09.09 | 9:23 am

“The big news out of the Conservative Political Action Conference … was an impassioned speech given by Gov. Tim Pawlenty,” intoned John McLaughlin last week on “The McLaughlin Group,” PBS’s exhausted political shout-fest. In a six-minute segment titled “Pawlenty…

Capitol Catchall: Guns, copper thieves and Sen.-elect Franken

By Paul Schmelzer | 02.16.09 | 2:16 pm

Recent goings at the Capitol: Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen introduce a bipartisan bill to hinder copper thieves; Rep. Betty McCollum urges the president to enforce the ban on assault weapon imports; and CNN notes that Al Franken has taken to calling himself “Senator-elect.”

CPAC will have Palin on TV, Pawlenty in person, Bachmann as emcee

By Chris Steller | 02.11.09 | 12:35 pm

palin-bachmann-pawlentyAlaska Gov. Sarah Palin will appear at this month’s Conservative Political Action Conference only via TV hookup, while the man she aced out for the 2008 GOP vice presidential nomination may still take the stage: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty…

Details still iffy about Biden’s Minneapolis face time with Obama on veep post

By Chris Steller | 12.29.08 | 9:22 am

The Twin Cities played a starring role in the selection of both major-party vice-presidential candidates this year — on stage in the case of Republican Sarah Palin and behind the scenes in the case of Democrat Joe Biden. But just as the grand total of Palin’s purchases on GOP credit cards (which started in Minnesota) was a moving target, the details of Biden’s back-door tete-a-tete with Barack Obama in Minneapolis last August have shifted over time. At issue: Exactly how long did they meet in person at Obama’s hotel, and exactly how many others (and of what gender) was Obama still considering for the veep slot then?

Pawlenty’s mullet, trimmed for veepstakes, is back

By Chris Steller | 11.08.08 | 11:56 am

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty ditched his mild-mannered mullet hairstyle for the Republican veepstakes over the summer. But now he has grown it back, giving 2012 presidential handicappers something to watch. Is he trying to show he’s a Mesabi Maverick?…

Tim Pawlenty to Rachel Maddow on MSNBC: ‘I’m available’

By Chris Steller | 11.04.08 | 6:57 am

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty made an election eve appearance on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday — a rare visit by a conservative on Maddow’s fledgling cable-TV companion to her popular Air America radio program. His key message, with an eye to 2012: “I’m available, I’m available.” Video after the jump, with a transcription of Pawlenty’s comments on McCain and Obama, the Franken-Coleman U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, and whether Gov. Sarah Palin is a drag on the ticket or a future leader of the party.

VP or not VP: Salter pushed for Pawlenty

By Paul Demko | 10.27.08 | 8:59 am

Buried in Robert Draper’s absorbing inside look at John McCain’s presidential campaign is a minor nugget regarding Gov. Tim Pawlenty. As top strategists Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis were pushing a Sarah Palin VP pick, the other member…

‘Tasergate?’ Palin borrows silly phrases from right-wing blogs

By David Noon | 10.08.08 | 1:12 pm

The Republican VP candidate’s airborne exchange with reporters yesterday was a trip down memory lane, a brief glimpse back at the Sarah Palin we grew to love a few weeks ago. Like the rich deposits of oil that…