Gov. Tim Pawlenty's vice-presidential prospects got their most direct boost yet this morning -- directly from John McCain's presidential campaign.

An e-mail sent to reporters from McCain's press office touts Pawlenty's appearance today on Fox News in which he lavishly praised McCain's stance on the escalating crisis between Russia and Georgia.

Although Pawlenty has long been considered a leading contender to be picked as McCain's running mate, the e-mail marks the first time the Arizona senator's campaign staffers have pushed him onto center stage.

Both McCain and Pawlenty have remained consistently coy about the governor's prospects for the vice-presidential nomination. McCain routinely praises Pawlenty in generalities, as representing "the next generation" of GOP leadership. For his part, Pawlenty has simply quit talking about the speculation.

Nonetheless, Pawlenty is coming off a week in which his national stature grew, with a heavily-covered speech at the National Press Club, a laudatory column about him in the Wall Street Journal and a lengthy front-page profile in the New York Times.

At the press club, when asked what the most important characteristic of a vice-presidential candidate should be, Pawlenty answered, "discretion."

His comments on Fox News highlighted by the McCain campaign included this praise for the presumptive Republican nominee:

"Well, one of the advantages of having experience in military and national security matters is you get the wisdom that comes with it ...I think he's is correctly calling this situation. He said when he looked in the eyes of Vladimir Putin he saw 'a K a G and a B.' I think he senses correctly that Russia still has an aggressive posture in terms of its foreign policy and this could be very well an example of that. So Senator McCain's response, an aggressive response as it relates to the U.N., as it relates to NATO, as it relates to sending the Secretary of State to Europe, I think are the right steps and it reflects his wisdom and experience."

The e-mail was sent a few hours after Russia declared a cease-fire in its attack on Georgia. While McCain has been stressing his long-term hard-line stance in dealing with Russia, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama stressed the need for negotiation and international cooperation, while also condemning Russia's invasion last week.

--Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184