Minnesota's popular governor is a close match for all the qualities McCain is looking for. Pawlenty's social-conservative bona fides are supported by his strong Catholicism, and his rallying cry that the GOP should be "the party of Sam's Club, not the country club," works with this election cycle's focus on the blue-collar independent vote. Pawlenty has also embraced energy reform, giving him some credentials as the kind of post-Bush Republican that McCain likes to market himself as. But his low national profile and competition from other conservatives could be vulnerabilities.
by Massimo Calabresi, with reporting by James Downie/Washington