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W0W .. this guy’s really been a sleeper .. I had no idea his name has been out there for a couple of months.

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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/06/speaker_pelosi_touts_texas_rep.html

Pelosi Touts Texas Rep. Chet Edwards For Veep

OK, so now we have a pretty good idea of who House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would like to see in the No. 2 slot on the 2008 Democratic presidential ticket.

“I do think in the list of considerations there should be somebody from the House of Representatives,” Pelosi told Newsweek.com’s TamCam blog. Specifically, she said, “Chet Edwards is a person that many of us think would be a good person to be in the mix.”

Edwards is a nine-term centrist Democrat from Texas who, though he never served in the armed forces, has a solid military affairs background as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

If you ask us, it sounds like the Texan is tore down excited by the idea of running for veep.

He released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying he is “humbled” that Pelosi “and others” (note that he said “and others”) would suggest him as a vice presidential running mate for Obama. “Given that I have not met with the Obama campaign regarding the vice presidential nomination, I would not want to speculate on the names being considered,” Edwards said.

The congressman said his “focus” remains on serving his district and passing the VA-military construction appropriations bill.

And he included a short bio of his accomplishments in Congress, just in case anyone — especially, say, a guy whose last name is Obama — wanted to read about his qualifications.

His statement said the following: “Edwards is the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. In his first year as Chairman of the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee in 2007, Congressman Edwards authored a historic increase of $11.8 billion in veterans’ health care and benefits, the largest increase in veterans funding in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration (VA).

Today, the Appropriations Committee unanimously passed the fiscal year 2009 bill, which increases VA spending by $ 2.9 billion above the President’s request and $4.6 billion more than the historic fiscal year 2008 level.”

Edwards wouldn’t be the craziest pick for Obama. Though it would be a real challenge for him to attract too many folks in his district — he represents a majority Republican district — to vote for Obama.

The most powerful of Edwards’ many GOP constituents also happens to be the most powerful Republican in the country: George W. Bush, whose home town of Crawford lies in Edwards’ district.