There have been conflicting reports about whether John McCain has decided on the running mate he's slated to announce tomorrow, but there seems to be agreement that Mitt Romney and Joe Lieberman -- both of whom would be gifts to the Democrats -- are reportedly still in the running.
The Council for National Policy, the secretive brain trust of the conservative movement, is meeting today in Minneapolis in advance of the Republican National Convention, and the mood there will surely reflect the sentiments of the base about who McCain might choose.
Anyone can see Romney would be a disaster for McCain for so many reasons -- the religious right dislikes him, in spite of a small coterie of evangelical loyalists, and he's richer than McCain. Romney would deflate growing, post-Saddleback enthusiasm for McCain among the religious right, but Lieberman, pro-choice and not even a Republican, would cause a revolt. His sole tie to the religious right is the one figure McCain has tried so hard to run from, John Hagee. Talk about the apocalypse! McCain might be tight with Lieberman but he'd get grief from all directions for picking him.
Minnesota's governor, Tim Pawlenty, an evangelical and son of a truck driver with little name recognition, is reportedly still in the mix. We'll see if any news leaks out over the course of the day, but I wouldn't rule out a surprise pick no one's thinking of. Rich Lowry suggests Mike Huckabee would be just the ticket.
--Sarah Posner
