Speculation about McCain’s running mate isn’t quite as sexy as the speculation about Obama’s choice.  Guessing which fifty-something white man will get the McCain nod isn’t as exciting as wading through the broader Obama field of unknown variables: gender, race & age range. Those unknowns allow us to dream and speculate about who the rising star will pick as his partner to change the country and, perhaps, affect significant changes in the world.

With that said, I haven’t written off the Republican party as powerful change makers. My prediction for McCain’s running mate is Minnesota’s Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty offers some impressive stats and has shown his progressive nature in matters of gender, race and energy policy.

During his first and now second term as MN’s Governor Pawlenty has relied on Lieutenant Governor Carol Molnau. 

His twenty-three member cabinet is 30% female, unfortunately significantly less than the fifty percent gender mix in the general population.  However in a state where 85-90% of its population is white, 20% of Pawlenty’s cabinet are not white.

His most notable accomplishments include:

• proposing and signing into law significant new benefits for veterans and members of the military
• enacting a property tax cap
• eliminating the marriage tax penalty while cutting taxes
• toughening MN’s education standards and reforming teacher salaries by implementing a nation-leading performance pay plan
• instituting free-market health care reforms that increase accountability and provide tax credits to encourage the use of health savings accounts
• implementation of a plan to Americanize MN energy sources by generating 25% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025