The bookies on the VP selection

The bookies might be as legitimate when it comes to political analysis as anything we’re force fed in the news these days.

Gov. Romney is expected to pick a running mate soon, so that the London Olympics don’t overshadow the pick.

Let’s check Paddypower, which opened book on the Republican vice presidential pick last April, installing Florida’s Marco Rubio as the overwhelming 11-to-4 favorite.

But that was then and this is now. Now, Rob Portman, the Ohio senator, is going off at 7-to-4 odds, but former Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty is drawing in the railbirds, too. Betting on either one will not pay for medical school.

Betting on Pawlenty requires ignoring history. Governors don’t usually get on the ticket; the last one to be elected was Spiro Agnew. Only 4 of 25 people nominated by a major party came from the ranks of governors.

The last time it happened became a study in how not to pick a VP candidate.