I think I disagree... Ridge is pro abortion. I don’t know if I could deal with that, a lot of people couldn’t. It sounds like the only thing wrong with Pawlenty is that he’s a global warming sort of guy, but McCain already is too, so that’s not making the ticket any worse, IMHO. Adding a pro abortion politician to it would make it a harder pill to swallow. Pawlenty at least should not drive any voters away. I would be willing to give him a chance.
I don’t think McCain will ever catch up to Obama in the “excitement game,” I think he just needs to not say or do anything else stupid or risky and stop blurring the lines between him and the Democrats, and then people will come back and vote for him after Obama flames out (which I think he will.) If he does something idiotic like picking a Democrat for his VP then he’s toast. Picking a slightly boring Republican governor with no scandals doesn’t sound too awful to me.
I really don’t see what advantage Pawlenty has over Romney. Romney is a much better campaigner.