James Pethokoukis makes an interesting observation about the Tom Ridge trial balloon floated earlier this week:

Me: Oh, I have no doubt McCain is considering a pro-choicer, but that person isn't Ridge. (Just a ploy to gauge activist reaction.) I think it's actually former eBay CEO Meg Whitman , the person McCain mentioned at the Saddleback forum--in response to a question he apparently had in advance--as one of the wise persons he would consult with as president. Superstar CEO, technology/Internet leader, globalization expert, woman, a different kind of Republican, fly fisherman (!), young (just turned 52)--Margaret Cushing Whitman ticks a lot of boxes, folks. Plus, the Romney people inside the McCain campaign like her, though perhaps not as much as their old boss. But it would be a risky move for a candidate just a few points back in the polls. Yet if Obama chooses Joe Biden , as insiders expect, that would present an interesting opportunity for McCain to make a historic pick.

Ridge could be a stalking horse for any number of picks, I suppose. Meanwhile, Mark Halperin is reporting a source for the RNC says it ain't gonna be Ridge.

-Tom Bevan