Politics

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ― Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, often mentioned as a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain, promoted McCain's energy policy and critiqued his rival's as he campaigned across Wisconsin on Monday.

Pawlenty said Democratic Sen. Barack Obama would "slam the door shut" on additional nuclear power and offshore drilling if elected president because of his conditional support for those options.

McCain's plans to open more U.S. coastal waters to exploration for oil and gas and to add 45 nuclear power plants by 2030 would do more reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, he said.

"Senator McCain's proposal is bold, it's aggressive, it's an all-of-the-above approach," Pawlenty told reporters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he toured a nuclear reactor used for research. "Senator Obama has taken a very minimalist, or none-of-the-above, or very-few-of-the-above approaches."

Pawlenty's visit to Wisconsin -- where the candidates are competing for 10 electoral votes -- comes amid intense speculation that McCain is considering him as his No. 2. On Monday, Pawlenty also hosted Republican Party fundraisers in Madison and Milwaukee and spoke to GOP volunteers in Waukesha.

U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, a Democrat from Wausau, said Pawlenty's fundraising would help Republicans continue to air false television ads attacking Obama. Recent ads wrongly suggest Obama would raise middle-class taxes when he would cut them more than McCain, Obey said.

"(Pawlenty) has called for a civil and respectful campaign and yet virtually every time I turn on the television set, I see ads that are on the part of McCain that are grossly misleading," he said in a conference call arranged by Obama's campaign.

In his remarks at UW-Madison, Pawlenty focused on one of the hottest issues so far in the presidential race: energy.

On Sunday, Obama accused McCain of dropping his long opposition to offshore drilling in recent months only because he saw it was a popular position in public opinion polls. The Illinois senator has said he could accept some additional drilling -- but only as part of a comprehensive energy package.

Obama also has said nuclear energy would be on the table if he's elected, but he wants to make sure the plants are secure and their waste is stored safely.

Pawlenty said Obama's positions would be a roadblock to increasing the nation's energy supply.

"I personally believe that if Barack Obama gets elected, he will slam the door shut on these options," he said. "If Senator McCain is elected, he will open the door to these options and allow our energy supply to be increased and take some of the pressure off our energy crisis in the country."

Pawlenty would likely be dispatched to Wisconsin often if he's tapped for McCain's ticket.

Republicans and even some Democrats say he would help McCain here because he is already a familiar face in western cities such as Eau Claire, La Crosse and Hudson, where both campaigns are trying to win swing voters.

Chris Cillizza, who writes The Fix blog for the Washington Post, ranked Pawlenty last week as the most likely vice presidential pick for McCain. He noted Pawlenty's opposition to abortion rights, his success at winning election twice in an important Midwestern state and his friendship with the Arizona senator.

Pawlenty, 47, said he has stopped talking publicly about his vice presidential prospects. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said McCain would do well in the Midwest regardless of whether he's on the ticket and cited recent polls that show the race tightening in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

"Midwesterners like straight talk, and he's a straight talker," Pawlenty said. "Midwesterners like authenticity and not someone who is phony or too glitzy. Senator McCain is authentic ... and if you look at how his issues line up with mainstream voters, they line up more closely than Barack Obama's do. All of those things are going to serve him well in the Midwest."

 

  

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