Romney says Rubio is being vetted for VP -- USA Today

[bsteadman]

Romney says Rubio is being vetted for VP

USA Today
Catalina Camia
6/19/2012

Excerpt:

"Mitt Romney told reporters in Michigan that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is being looked at as his possible running mate, adding that a news story out today about the Tea Party favorite not being vetted was "entirely false."

"Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process," Romney said during a campaign stop in Holland, Mich.

ABC News reported this morning that the freshman senator was not being vetted to be Mitt Romney's running mate. The report cited "knowledgeable sources."

The ABC report said Rubio "has not been asked to complete any questionnaires or been asked to turn over any financial documents typically required of potential vice presidential candidates." It went on to say that it was "possible that Rubio may yet be asked to go through the vetting process."

"There was a story that originated today apparently at ABC based upon reports of supposedly outside unnamed advisers of mine. I can't imagine who such people are," Romney said. "But I can tell you this: They know nothing about the vice presidential selection or evaluation process. There are only two people in this country who know who are being vetted and who are not, and that's Beth Myers and myself.

"The story was entirely false," he said. "Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process."

Myers is a longtime trusted adviser to Romney and served as his chief of staff when he was Massachusetts governor."
..........................................

View the complete article at:

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...1#.T-GxW8XkaSo

[bsteadman]

Clues Emerge on Romney's VP Pick

Wall Street Journal, Online
Colleen McCain Nelson
6/19/2012

Excerpt:

"Speculation about Mitt Romney's running mate has kicked up a notch, as one possibility seemed to remove himself from the running, another took a more central role in the campaign and a third saw Mr. Romney confirm him as a serious contender.

Tim Pawlenty has 'never done a bad interview' while acting as a spokesman for the campaign, according to a Romney operative.

The field of Mr. Romney's potential choices seemed to narrow Tuesday as Republican officials and friends of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said he was likely to be chosen as the next president of Purdue University, based on what they had heard from people at the university or inside Mr. Daniels's camp. Mr. Daniels's selection was reported by the Indianapolis Star. The governor's office and Purdue declined to comment.

On Tuesday, a friend of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a conservative favorite, said that he wasn't currently being vetted by the Romney campaign. Mr. Romney brushed off a question about Mr. Rubio during the day in an appearance on Fox News, but by evening he said that the senator "is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process.''

Meantime, attention increasingly is turning to Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor and onetime Romney primary-season foe. Of elected officials who joined Mr. Romney in a recent six-state campaign tour, Mr. Pawlenty stood out to party leaders as they handicapped who might be chosen to join the GOP ticket.

Privately, some Romney campaign officials have offered that Mr. Pawlenty has impressed them with his work as a Romney representative on the campaign trail and with the press. "He's never done a bad interview" while acting as a campaign spokesman, said one Republican operative.
Who Might Be a Romney Running Mate?

Moreover, Mr. Pawlenty's background as the son of a truck driver from South St. Paul, Minn., is a potential counterweight to Mr. Romney's wealth. The former governor also could help Mr. Romney in the battleground states of Minnesota and neighboring Iowa, both of which the campaign sees as potential pickups from President Barack Obama's 2008 column.

As is pro forma among potential picks, Mr. Pawlenty has shrugged off questions about the No. 2 slot. But over time, his denials have shifted from suggesting that Mr. Romney take his name off the list to noting that anybody would be honored to serve, if asked. He has been through this before: Mr. Pawlenty was said to be on GOP nominee John McCain's shortlist in 2008.

Mr. Pawlenty dropped out of the 2012 nominating contest before the first vote was cast, after doing poorly in a straw poll in Ames, Iowa, last August. A month later, he endorsed Mr. Romney, making him an early backer among GOP leaders. The two men have developed a friendly, respectful relationship, a friend of Mr. Pawlenty said.

Mr. Pawlenty and other potential running mates joined Mr. Romney for parts of the five-day bus tour that ended Tuesday. "I don't know if you've been listening or not, but Barack Obama's been going around the country basically saying his campaign theme is, 'It could be worse,' " Mr. Pawlenty told voters in Cornwall, Pa. "I've got news for the president: It's really bad. Mitt Romney's telling the country it's going to get a lot better when he's president."

Others who joined for segments of the tour included Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire."
................................................

View the complete article at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...273998458.html