Gov. Bob McDonnell has been touted as a possible vice-presidential candidate in 2012. The Governor has said he would consider an offer to join a ticket. Virginia’s political class is stirred, its press corps intrigued. But according to one of Larry Sabato’s experts, law school Prof. Joel Goldstein, it’s not clear McDonnell, or any of the other “new faces” in the GOP will get picked for the number two slot:

Flattering a politician’s supporters seems a strange thing to do. These are the same folks who are very likely to support the national nominee anyway. It may be more a matter of signaling, where the potential presidential nominee wants to show the supporters of possible running mates that he (or she) is in tune with the other’s ideas or achievements – and possibly, steal a bit of their mojo.