Over in the New York Sun, I have a column about Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's early endorsement of Sen. John McCain. The headline of the column —  "McCain Hints Minn. Governor May Be His Running Mate" — is a little more exciting than I would have picked; I presume the headline is based on this section:

Though no evidence exists that the Minnesota governor's early support represents a pitch to get on a McCain-Pawlenty ticket, it's hard to believe the thought hasn't crossed either man's mind.

In the final week of the November election, Mr. McCain made several appearances with Mr. Pawlenty and his words of praise would suggest the Arizona senator sees in the governor a potential future vice president."I know of no one who will make a greater contribution to the future of America than this great leader," Mr. McCain said at one stop."This is the kind of leadership that I'd like to pass the torch to."

Again, I hope nobody believes that I'm putting words in McCain's mouth.

Much of the column looks at the recent rapid rise and sudden fall of the Minnesota state Republican party. While Pawlenty's name may not be on the tip of everyone's tongue right now, it probably will when people look at the GOP's gubernatorial ranks. One of the many frustrating results of 2006 for Republicans was that this year really thinned out their selection of potential national leaders in the governors' mansions. A little bit of trivia in the column that surprised me: The red states of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma are either enjoying a second term of a Democratic governor or a second consecutive Democratic governor. (Obviously, just about all of these lawakers  would constitute plausible running mates for Senators Clinton or Obama.)

UPDATE: My column had a boneheaded error: The Democrats did gain another seat in the state's U.S. House delegation this year, but not the one I indicated. Mark Kennedy's 6th District House seat was retained by the GOP; Democrat Tim Walz defeated longtime incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht in the 1st District.