Romney Advisers' VP Favorite: Pawlenty

Despite the fact that Mitt Romney just made waves by confirming Marco Rubio is being vetted as a possible runningmate, Tim Pawlenty is the No. 1 pick for VP among several of Romney's top advisers, sources tell Politico. His most winning quality seems to be his appeal to regular, working-class folks, something Romney struggles with. "Pawlenty will walk up and put a supporter in a headlock," says one Republican consultant—who actually saw Pawlenty do just that. "He provides a nice yin and yang to Romney."

Pawlenty is also a Christian, which could help with those who are wary of Romney's Mormonism, but he's relaxed enough about his faith that he won't scare off non-religious voters. He and Romney get along well, and Pawlenty is shockingly low-key when campaigning for the presidential candidate (he's been known to rent his own car and drive himself around). Still, Politico notes that Romney has made it clear that he'll make the final decision. Click for more signs Pawlenty just might be The One. (More Tim Pawlenty stories.)