Gambling on Sunday Morning... on Thune!

A faithful reader forwards me a Fox News article on the latest VP oddsmaking. Of three lists presented, our Senator John Thune makes only one as a possibility for John McCain's running mate. Ron Faucheux, political analyst and Georgetown instructor, gives Thune 15:1 odds on getting McCain's nod. Faucheux gives out neighbor, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, 5:1 odds, same as Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge, and Condoleezza Rice.

More fun and free-wheeling oracles Rasmussen Markets and Intrade Prediction Markets don't even mention Thune. The "wisdom of crowds" on those two sites gives GW's brother Jeb Bush a better chance than Thune of filling the GOP VP slot.

I'll stick with my January analysis, that helping McCain take second in Rock Rapids, Iowa, probably isn't going to win Thune his spot on the ticket. Better yet, I'll stick with Dr. Schaff's analysis on SDPB back at the end of March that said Thune just doesn't bring as much to the ticket electorally as a good-sized list of other candidates. Bush Sr.'s choice of a handsome Midwestern Senator just to appeal to the youth vote didn't go so well. And if McCain needs someone to shore up his conservative base, aren't there a host of other candidates (Huckabee, Romney, Rice... others?) who bring that quality plus executive experience and name recognition?

I should be boosting Senator Thune: if McCain did pick him, Madison alum Jon Lauck would have a crack at working in the White House, not to mention writing a really great insider's history of the 2008 Presidential campaign. But the numbers just don't seem to point that way this year.