After more than a week of getting gashed from both sides for his refusal to release more tax returns, it appears Mitt Romney may be attempting to turn the spotlight elsewhere. Buzz is circulating that Romney may announce his running mate as early as Friday of this week. The well-sourced Robert Costa of the National Review (who appeared on Hardball last night) was the first to tweet the possibility.
So, who's it going to be? Did the Romney folks try out former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty for a test run when he appeared on MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell yesterday afternoon?
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has also been a mainstay on the campaign trail stumping for Mitt. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza made his case why Jindal should be Romney's pick
Would Romney be so bold and opt for the bombastic governor from New Jersey, Chris Christie? Not likely since NBC News is now reporting Christie will give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Now back to Romney. Despite the growing chorus of conservative elites suggesting Romney should reveal more of his tax info, the news isn't all negative for Mitt. A new CBS/New York Times poll suggests that enthusiasm is up for Romney and down for President Obama.
Meanwhile far away from the American political scene, it looks like things are coming to a tipping point in Syria. President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and Syria's defense minister were killed when a rebel suicide bomber attacked a group of senior government officials in Damascus. In a briefing this morning, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the situation "is rapidly spinning out of control"
