I'm honestly surprised McCain has stayed this competitive in the race. But I don't see a VP really adding any numbers statistically for him in the polls. Or anything to the ticket really. It will just give Pawlenty, a fairly decent conservative, into a big government conservative.

The thing I haven't heard explained/reported is why Palin has a charter flight to Ohio. Pawlenty, may be the diversion... I mean he would be active anyway... the convention is in his state. Plus, Erick hassn't been right yet (neither have I, but...)

Yahoo News is reporting this morning that Pawlenty will not be in Ohio for the McCain announcement and rally. He will be at the Minnesota State Fair. That pretty much means he is out of the running. Last night, Huckabee sent an email to his supporters that he will not be in Ohio for the announcement, so that takes him out. So far, that leaves Lieberman, Romney, Palin, Whitman, and Ridge. Who knows? I think the Alaska governor would be a nice choice for McCain, but she does lack a lot of political experience. She is governor of the least populated and most isolated state in the Union. I am sure the Obama camp will fire back saying that she lacks leadership experience, especially in light of what the Republicans are saying about Obama.

Now it appears Romney is out of the running. I am beginning to think it will be Sarah Palin.

Palin.

Right office: governor
Right state: Minnesota
Wrong Guy
In a surprise move, McCain names Jesse "The Body" Ventura to be his running mate. You heard it here first.

ABC is reportig Palin did not catch the above mentioned Flight... She is still in Alaska.

Please God, let it be Lieberman!

ARRG! AP is now reporting that Palin was possibly on the flight.
A Gulfstream IV from Anchorage, Alaska, flew into Middletown Regional Airport in Butler County near Cincinnati about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, said Rich Bevis, airport manager. He said several people came off the plane, including a woman and two teens, but there was no confirmation of who was aboard.

"They were pretty much hustled off. They came right down the ramp, jumped in some vans here and off they went," Bevis said. "It was all hush, hush."

Palin's parents were told to stop hunting and go home and listen to the radio.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s parents were called early this morning at their home in Wasilla and told to “listen to the radio” by Palin’s husband, Tim.

Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, says he and his wife were caribou hunting when they were told to come home and tune into their local radio station to hear “exciting news,” but said he did not know if his daughter was the choice for John McCain’s vice president.

“The river was swollen, so we almost didn’t get back,” Palin’s mother, Sally Heath, told CBS News.

The two said they said the call was “a wonderful surprise.”

“I am shocked!” said Mrs. Heath.

I can see why he would go with Palin. First, she is a woman who might appeal to disaffected women voters who felt betrayed by the Obama campaign because of Hillary. Second, she is an executive who can balance that aspect of the ticket. Third, she is very much like McCain says he wants to be: maverick. In Alaska, she has a reputation of calling out Republicans who have ethics problems. In addition, she also opposed Stevens and Young in Alaska because of ethics issues and out of control spending. Fourth, she offers a counter to Beau Biden. Her oldest son Track, ships off to Iraq this Septemeber. It is one thing for Biden to be sending his son, a captain and the 40 something year old Attorney General of Deleware, off to Iraq. It is quite another to send your 19 year old son off to fight in the Infantry Brigade in the Middle East. Fifth, she has one heck of a compelling story. Her youngest child has down syndrome; she is a mother of five; she is the daughter of a school teacher; she is the youngest governor in Alaska history; she is a bull on energy research and alternative fuel, but still supports taping our natural resources that we have here now, and she is not a Washington insider. Lastly, she is staunchly pro-life and socially conservative (I hate that) and that wil