Pawlenty Says He’d Be ‘Honored to Serve’ as VP

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has apparently put himself back on the list of potential Mitt Romney running mates after saying last month he wasn’t interested in the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket.

“If asked, anybody, including me, would be honored to serve,” Pawlenty said Friday in a conference call with reporters, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Tim Pawlenty (AP Photo)

That answer was quite different from the one he gave two weeks ago, the newspaper noted. Then, he said, “I’m going to take my name off the list,” suggesting there were other ways he could be supportive of Romney and the Republican Party.

Pawlenty, a former presidential candidate himself, is now a Romney surrogate, appearing on the campaign trail and consistently on talk shows to promote the GOP nominee.

He said in the conference call he plans to continue in that role.

“We just don’t talk about the VP process,” he said.

Pawlenty was considered at one point during the 2008 presidential campaign to be a sure bet to share the ticket with then-Republican nominee John McCain. But then the Arizona senator picked former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin instead.

That may be why Pawlenty has said — at least up until now — that he’s not interested in going through the vice presidential vetting process again.