Mitt Romney has made up his mind about who will join him on the GOP ticket and may make the much-anticipated announcement as soon as this week, the New York Times reports, citing those close to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
If the former governor does indeed name his VP pick this week, it would give the Republican a chance to change a political conversation that is currently focused squarely on Romney's time as head of Bain Capital.
The Times report comes only days after Romney advisers floated Condi Rice's name to the Drudge Report as a possible running mate—even though the popular former secretary of state has repeatedly said she has no interest in the job. The Drudge story, conveniently, came on the same day that the Boston Globe reported Romney remained atop Bain for three years longer than he has claimed, a story that has sparked a heated war of words between Obama and Romney.
The current leaders for the no. 2 slot on the GOP ticket are widely considered to be former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. Others thought to be on the short-list include South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan. (NBC News has a solid run-down on the strengths and weakness of all of those candidates, along with other possibilities like Sens. Marco Rubio and Kelly Ayotte.)
Romney leaves town at the end of next week for London, Israel, and Poland, and could announce his decision before the departure.
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