Mittmentum?

One report suggests that John McCain has settled on former rival Mitt Romney as his running mate.

Published August 22, 2008 12:40PM (EDT)

According to Time's Mark Halperin, John McCain has chosen his running mate: erstwhile opponent Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Halperin cites two unnamed Republican sources as saying that "McCain has apparently settled on Romney as his pick, but no offer has been made."

Of course, this being veepstakes speculation, there are plenty of other names still being floated. The National Review's Byron York, for example, thinks that McCain's choice will come down to Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman or Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. And while the New York Times lists Romney and Pawlenty as the top possibilities, the paper also says that Lieberman and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge have been mentioned recently, and reports that some people "close to the campaign" are floating the name of Gen. David Petraeus, who's currently commanding American forces in Iraq. "One adviser characterized General Petraeus, who presided over a recent reduction of violence in Iraq, as more of a wish-list candidate for Mr. McCain," the Times says.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama says he has made his decision, but he's keeping the name close to the vest for the moment. Currently, speculation about his choice focuses on Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

Update: Two former senior Romney people have told Salon's Mike Madden that they haven't heard anything from the McCain camp. One added that there's a "lot of internal buzz" about this in Romneyland.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

MORE FROM Alex Koppelman


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

2008 Elections Barack Obama Joe Biden John Mccain R-ariz. Mitt Romney Tim Pawlenty