Pawlenty will *not* cause social conservatives to stay home, as a Ridge pick would-—McCain picking a pro-lifer will all but guarantee an energized Evangelical vote for him, and Pawlenty certainly does the trick. And, BTW, have you seen Ridge’s ACU ratings? His averages were in the 30s during the 1980s and in the 60s during the 1990s, so he clearly voted liberal on more than just abortion.
Even if Pawlenty isn’t as attractive to blue-collar voters as I think he will be, and doesn;t help as much as I think in MN, WI and IA, he still will be far more helpful to McCain’s chances of winning than Romney, Ridge, Lieberman or Hutchison.
It’s not just enough they be pro-life. He’s been a total bust as a Governor, and would’ve been defeated after a single term were it not for a gaffe by Judy Dutcher. I can’t even begin to imagine why he was considered. Ridge is no prize, but at least he didn’t scuttle the PA GOP on his watch. If Ridge switched to being pro-life, he’d be a lot more palatable.