Another day, another poll showing Rick Perry miles ahead of Mitt Romney in the race for the GOP nomination. What Romney needs is a spark. What he got this morning was the endorsement of the guy who dropped out of the race in August due to his negligible support:
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty endorsed Mitt Romney for president Monday, praising his onetime rival for his “leadership ability” and the “depth and scope of [his] private-sector experience.”
“I believe he’s going to be our party’s nominee,” Pawlenty said on “Fox and Friends,” predicting Romney would be a “transformational and great president.”
There’s no reason to doubt that Romney really is Pawlenty’s preferred candidate. Pawlenty is even signing up as Romney’s national co-chairman. But even though Pawlenty claims he’s “not going to consider being VP,” the endorsement will inevitably lead to speculation — by people like us, right now — that he’s secretly kind of hoping for exactly that.
Even if Romney is Pawlenty’s best shot at getting on the ticket, however, the Minnesotan’s chances are still pretty slim. A Romney–Pawlenty ticket — two mild-mannered, middle-aged, white-guy, blue-state governors — would make cardboard look fresh and exciting. The choice between a guy like Marco Rubio — the popular, squeaky-clean Hispanic senator from the key swing state of Florida — and Pawlenty is no choice at all.
Pawlenty endorses Romney [Politico]
