From The Pgh Post Gazette
By Tony Norman

Deep in the bowels of Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, a meeting of disgruntled Republican vice presidential also-rans is taking place. Scratching a growth of beard he hasn’t shaved in the five days that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been John McCain’s running mate, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts stares into the abyss that was once his fast lane to the presidency.

He is not alone. Exuding the anonymous blandness that ruled him out as the transformative figure the Republican presidential ticket desperately needed, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty sighs. He glances at former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fidgeting in front of the mini-refrigerator, as if deciding whether now is as good a time as any to go back to eating any old damn thing he pleases. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge is asleep on the sofa.

Leaning against a wall as if recently punched in the gut, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina suppresses the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani flips the channels on the boardroom flat screen looking for updates on Hurricane Gustav and the truncated Republican National Convention.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Mitt Romney says. “We’ve all been terribly, brutally, outrageously used and cast aside by John McCain. All of us — with the possible exception of Rudy — had our names floated in the media as likely running mates in recent weeks.”

“And not just us in this room,” Pawlenty says. “Bobby Jindal was an early front-runner. Charlie Crist had to reverse himself on offshore drilling and give up his bachelor ways in Tallahassee just to be considered for the No. 2 slot. McCain yanked two of our proudest governors around like prize show hounds.”

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