Tom Ridge, the former head of Homeland Security and a member of John McCain's vice presidential search committee, was in the Twin Cities last week, but it apparently wasn't to talk about whether Gov. Tim Pawlenty should be McCain's running mate in November.

It seems Ridge did more talking about himself than asking about our governor — at least in a Tuesday meeting with a group of Republican legislators.

"We didn't talk about the governor as much as I thought we would,'' said Rep. Marty Seifert, the House minority leader. "Someone in our group asked about McCain hooking up with a good guy for vice president and I think Ridge thought we were talking about him. It was a little awkward."

Mostly, Seifert said, Ridge talked with Republicans about being effective in the minority.

Ridge, who at one time was on President Bush's short list of VP candidates, is not just searching for a McCain running mate this time around. He's also considered a candidate. The former Pennsylvania congressman and governor was in the Twin Cities in his role as a "senior adviser" for Deloitte & Touche, an international professional services/auditing company.

It's presumed that Ridge did find time to meet with Pawlenty, but there's been no confirmation of that from the governor's office. — Doug Grow