Nothing Pawlenty could have reasonably done would have prevented the disaster. The bridge collapsed because of a design flaw in the gusset plates, not because of spending.

Jay:

“Because Thompson dropped out of the race? I’m not even sure he was on the ballot in Tennessee.”

Thompson got 3% in Tennessee…perhaps that was all from write-in votes though. The point is Huckabee hijacked Thompson’s voting cohort in the South. The superstar who loses the war against an unfunded fourth-tier challenger doesn’t get to be credibly praised for “ripping him a new one”.

“As for Pawlenty, the idea that it was low taxes that brought the bridge down is pure BS… unless by “low taxes” you mean “a design flaw from 1967.””

The paper trail from during Pawlenty’s administration suggests his administration knew that 35W bridge was badly deteriorating and needed a serious upgrade. I’ll grant you it’s probably more bad luck that it collapsed and could just as easily have happened to Rudy Perpich or would-be Governor Mike Hatch, but the combination of Pawlenty’s refusal to adequately fund infrastructure repairs and his documented ambivalence about repairing this specific bridge after it was deemed unacceptable is ultimately a PR nightmare for him.

“The fact that the Democrats immediately seized upon the collapse as a political issue before the first victims were even plucked from the water did reflect well on the Democrats.”

I won’t argue with that, and it’s likely TPaw’s continued popularity is the result of an overreach by the likes of Nick Coleman and his ilk. Still, when all the rocks are turned, it’s abundantly clear that Pawlenty had the opportunity to avert this major-league black eye but chose not to out of political expediency. And when Republicans like yourself will repeatedly suggest during the course of this Presidential campaign that the nation would be absolute morons to undergo a widespread infrastructure upgrade under the specious and infantile logic that it would force unemployed software engineers to dig ditches, it suggests that alot more bridges are gonna collapse in servitude to low-tax orthodoxy.

If Huckabee really got “ripped a new one” by Thompson, why did Huckabee just win Thompson’s home state?

Because Thompson dropped out of the race? I’m not even sure he was on the ballot in Tennessee.

As for Pawlenty, the idea that it was low taxes that brought the bridge down is pure BS… unless by “low taxes” you mean “a design flaw from 1967.” If anything, the Democratic rush to blame Republicans for the collapse shows how desperately and nakedly political the Democrats have become. The fact that the Democrats immediately seized upon the collapse as a political issue before the first victims were even plucked from the water did reflect well on the Democrats.

Sarah Palin is as you said a bit green at this point. But be assured she is goign to be a player in the long run. I would expect a Seante run in the future. Yes she is attractive, but more importantly she is smart and very very well liked by her constituents. The GOp needs more woman like her in leadership roles.

Fred Thompson….for all your adulation of Thompson, he supported many of the same positions in the Senate that you find unforgivable when it concerns McCain. As for “ripping Huckabee a new one”, that’s not a very compelling talking point when you consider the well-funded Thompson campaign got its ass handed to it by the fourth-tier candidate Huckabee fighting for the same constituency of voters. If Huckabee really got “ripped a new one” by Thompson, why did Huckabee just win Thompson’s home state? Ouch! And on top of all of that, the last thing McCain needs is a running mate even more stereotypically geriatric than he is. Thompson’s a nonstarter.

J.C. Watts….a buzzworthy possibility that could be downright genius if the Dems nominate Hillary. If they nominate Obama, however, it’ll seem gimmicky. Given his thin and dated political resume, the Republicans will have to come up with a compelling justification for Watts to be on the ticket or else run the risk of being called out for “affirmative action for GOP public relations”.

Michael Steele….despite his undeniable likability, he ran a gaffe prone campaign last year and has a bad habit of “telling reporters too much”. Had Steele performed better against a weak opponent in the 2006 Maryland Senate race (and if he had a more noteworthy political resume), he could be a contender in 2008, but he barely overperformed George Bush’s double-digit losing margin from 2004.

Tom Coburn….the anti-Michael Steele with an almost gleefully abrasive and confrontational personality. He would be a lightning rod of criticism for independents and would fit the mold of “Dr. Evil” even more suitably than current VP Dick Cheney. With that said, he’s one of the few consistent conservatives out there and would definitely help McCain with the radical right.

Mike Huckabee….quite possibly the top choice for McCain, and the best choice. Willard’s anemic numbers in every region of the country show just how microscopic the robber baron wing of the Republican Party has become. Throwing Cato Institute disciples a bone would fetch plenty of favorable Wall Street Journal editorials, but wouldn’t help much with the evangelical foot soldiers more responsible than any other group for the 50% + 1 elections of George Bush in 2000 and 2004. Check out the numbers from rural Minnesota counties at Tuesdays caucuses. Huckabee cleaned up. The $20,000-per-year values voters get Mike Huckabee….and the Republicans desperately need those voters to get them if they have a prayer of winning.

Tim Pawlenty….the idea that TPaw is “wildly popular” because of his administration’s blissful ignorance on the status of the 35W bridge pre-collapse. His support is a quarter-mile deep and an inch thick…and the best way to watch it plummet is for the Republicans to elevate the “public face of collapsing bridges in America” to running mate status. Pawlenty would have been right at the top of the list last year at this time, but if I was McCain, I’d be reluctant to remind voters that the endgame of Republican antitax orthodoxy is EMS crews pulling corpses out of the Mississippi River. The fact that Pawlenty’s enthusiastic support of McCain yielded him no better than a wimpy 22% showing in Minnesota’s caucuses on Tuesday probably isn’t sweetening the bargain either. I won’t rule TPaw out by any means, but I think it would ultimately be a mistake for McCain.

Charlie Crist….I don’t know alot about this guy, but he’s incredibly popular in the vote-rich swing state of Florida. That would be enough to put him on my VP short list if I was McCain. Just imagine how many resources would be freed up to campaign elsewhere if McCain was able to take Florida off the table early by picking Crist. From a geographical standpoint, Crist seems like the perfect choice.

Sarah Palin….I’ll give you credit for an interesting, outside-the-box choice. And as abd pointed out, in addition to the other noteworthy bullet points on her resume, she’s cute to boot. Seems incredibly unlikely to make the ticket so soon, but if her name gets floated around out there, and if she successfully distances herself from prison-bound fellow Alaska Republicans Ted Stevens and Don Young, she definitely has a bright future in national politics.

Personally I like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford….