....a Republican source who attended a small private meeting with John McCain Tuesday in New Hampshire tells CNN that the GOP candidate dropped a serious hint about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

The Republican source said "out of the blue" McCain told the gathering that he thinks they are "really going to like" Pawlenty.

Of course there are lots of reasons for McCain to choose Pawlenty as his running mate. He's from a swing state, he's a loyal McCain guy, he's reasonably well-liked by the right, and he's got a reputation as an anti-tax guy.

But Pawlenty has a lot of downsides, too. He was barely re-elected in 2006. He is unlikely to flip Minnesota, where Obama leads by a double-digit margin. His no-new-taxes pledge could only be kept by raising a host of "fees" which raised revenue to go into the general fund -- the dictionary definition of a tax. He's not well-known outside of Minnesota. He wears a mullet. And he's a pleasant but rather bland fellow.

While he may be a solid VP choice, he would also be an extraordinarily safe one.

I don't know if McCain has to swing for the fences in order to win this election. The polls seem to indicate it's still a close game. But I don't see Pawlenty as a guy who is going to give McCain a huge boost going into the fall.