McCain's VP: Who Will It Be?

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is expected to announce his running mate August 29th -- right after the Democrats wrap up their national convention.

A number of names have been floated as possible Republican vice-presidential candidates.

But the two names that seem to pop up on everyone's list are Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Both men have potential advantages and disadvantages for McCain.

Pawlenty would add some youth to the ticket comparatively speaking, at least.

He's 47 years old, and McCain will turn 72 later this month.

And he's a governor an executive position McCain has never held.

Pawlenty is also an evangelical Christian.

That could help McCain win support among a group of conservative voters who did not support him during his unsuccessful run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.

(A large percentage of Republicans consider themselves conservatives. So in order for McCain to have any hope of becoming president, it's very important for him to win them over.)

And according to the Associated Press, Pawlenty has a reputation as a budget cutter and a tax cutter two other things that play well with Republican voters.

Pawlenty could also help McCain win Minnesota a state that hasn't voted Republican in the November presidential elections since Richard Nixon won a second term in the White House in 1972.

On the downside, Pawlenty is not well-known nationally.

And he's not even overwhelmingly popular in his own state. When he ran for re-election as Minnesota's governor in 2006, he won by a margin of less than 2%.

As Massachusetts' former governor, Romney also has executive experience McCain lacks.

And as a multimillionaire consultant and venture capitalist, Romney also has business experience, which McCain lacks as well.

But many conservative Republicans are uncomfortable with Romney's Mormon religious faith.

And during the Republican primaries, McCain pointed out that Romney's positions on a number of social issues used to be much more liberal, before he entered the presidential race.

Conservatives have been lukewarm in their support for McCain himself. That's why many experts say he needs to pick a running mate who's more conservative than he is, in order to get conservatives to support him in November.

Other names that have been tossed out as possible running mates for McCain include Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Homeland Security Secretary, Congressman and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.

But conservatives have been particularly outspoken against Ridge and Lieberman, saying those two men are not conservative enough.

As a former member of President Bush's cabinet, Ridge could also undermine McCain's attempts to refute one of the main arguments of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama that electing McCain would be the same thing as four more years of Bush.

Also on some people's list of possible vice-presidential candidates: former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and Senator John Thune of South Dakota.

Portman is also relatively young (52) and has a reputation as a fiscal conservative.

But he also has ties to the Bush administration. He served as President Bush's US trade representative and budget director.

Crist's endorsement is credited with helping McCain come out in front in the Republican primaries.

But he's also considered too liberal by some conservatives.

Like Pawlenty, Thune is Obama's age just 47. And his voting record would make him more popular with conservatives than most of McCain's other possible running mates.

But like Pawlenty, Thune is not well-known nationally. And he comes from a small state with very few electoral votes.

The suspense will all be over in the next week.

Then it's time for McCain and his running mate to hit the ground running, in the final two months of the race.