Ed Rendell

Gov. Ed Rendell said this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he is not being vetted for vice president.

"No, no, no, I'm not being vetted," Rendell said. "I haven't been contacted by anybody, showing that the Obama campaign has good sense."

The governor has been mentioned as a potential vice president for Obama after he played a critical role in U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) Pennsylvania primary campaign. Pennsylvania is universally considered a critical state to both presidential candidates this fall.

Former Gov. Tom Ridge (R) told PolitickerPA.com Monday that Rendell's presence in Pennsylvania is worth a few extra percentage points to Obama this November.

U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach: Campaign photoWASHINGTON - In 2004, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Upper Uwchlan Township) campaigned with George W. Bush in a difficult re-election race for his 6th Congressional District seat.

In the end, Bush lost the district to John Kerry (D-Mass.) by almost 11,000 votes. But Gerlach would go on to defeat his Democratic opponent, attorney Lois Murphy, by a more-than 6,000 vote margin. By the time the dust settled, Murphy had spent almost $2 million, accusing Gerlach of misleading of fiscal issues and tying the incumbent to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).

Two years later, Murphy was back for a rematch. In a favorable Democratic environment, Murphy doubled her expenditures and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and liberal-aligned women’s group EMILY’s List engaged. Democrats would go on to win 31 seats and the House majority in 2006, but Gerlach proved hard to beat. The Republican dispatched of Murphy by a margin of more than 3,000 votes.

By now I am sure almost all of you have seen the latest edition of JibJab.coms campaign 2008. An interesting note is Governor Ed Rendell makes a small cameo appearance in the movie during Hillary Clinton’s 2012 rally. The one thing that cannot be denied is his loyalty.

JibJab

PHILADELPHIA -- After a weekend in which he seemed to relish the role of playing host, Gov. Ed Rendell this morning was formally named chairman of the National Governors Association, continuing a political rise that has gained steam in recent months.

Assuming the organization's leadership during the closing meeting of its annual conference here, Rendell reitereated that the emphasis of his year-long tenure as chair would be on repairing the nation's crumbling infrastructure. Infrastructure has long been a pet issue of his in Pennsylvania.

“It is not the sexiest of issues," Rendell acknowledged. "It certainly doesn’t compete with health care an energy on the radar screen … but in many ways it’s as important as any single thing we can do.

"Now is the time when we can repair our nation’s infrastructure for significantly less than it will cost us 5 years down the road," he added.

PHILADELPHIA -- Mayor Michael Nutter played to the crowd here during his opening remarks of this weekend's National Governors Association meeting Friday night.

At one point, Gov. Ed Rendell whispered in his ear to mention something about the famous, but unusual brightly-uniformed Mummers.

Here is a video of Nutter's remarks:

Gov. Ed Rendell delivers opening remarks at the NGA meeting with Gov. Tim Pawlenty, left, and Mayor Michael Nutter, rightPHILADELPHIA -- After his brief opening remarks kicked off this weekend's centennial meeting of the National Governors Association here Friday, PolitickerPA.com caught up with Gov. Ed Rendell for a brief interview on the famous Art Museum steps.

Rendell is poised to assume leadership of the NGA this weekend from current chair Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota.

In his opening remarks, he thanks the NGA for choosing Philadelphia, and made sure to point out the scenery of the steps, where Sylverster Stalone's "Rocky" famously trained in the movie.

"You're welcome to try it; there's no liability to the city or the state if anyting happens going up the stairs," he cracked, "but you're welcome to try it."

Here is PolitickerPA.com's interview with Rendell.

For almost two years, Gov. Ed Rendell has worked against staunch neighborhood resistance to proposed casinos in Philadelphia. Even as some residents who once revered him as the city's mayor grew to loath him for his acceptance of the slot parlors planned for the Delaware River waterfront, Rendell has always sided with the casino developers.

When neighborhood activists continued to push the casinos to consider other sites further from residential areas, Rendell wrote to one that "the issue of re-siting is over." When City Council continued to cause delays, he sharply criticized local lawmakers as having "no guts."

But now that some of his staunchest Harrisburg allies from Philadelphia are lining up against him, Rendell appears to be bending, if not breaking, on the casino issue. On Friday, the man who championed casinos in Pennsylvania said "the political landscape has changed" and that he would meet with the casino developers to discuss moving the projects elsewhere.

Still, even as he signaled his first significant shift on casinos after long lauding their potential for proving tax relief, Rendell, a Democrat, sounded a note of caution.

"I'll meet and make a good-faith effort to explore the potential benefits of re-siting," he said, "but nobody should get too excited. The only way these casinos can be legally re-sited is if the casinos voluntarily agree."

The group proposing a $12.8 billion takeover of the Pennsylvania Turnpike doesn't plan to give up easily, The Patriot-News reports.

Just days after the House Transportation Committee Chairman said the proposed lease is dead, the paper reported the toll road company, Abertis Infraestructuras and Citigroup Inc., plans to launch a massive PR campaign to sway public opinion, including radio ads and 4 million to 6 million direct-mailings.

"We want to engage the people of Pennsylvania in this conversation," Jim Courtovich, spokesman for the venture, told The Patriot-News, "because we think on something of this magnitude and size, they are as important as the Legislature."

The deal has the support of Gov. Ed Rendell, but has thus far proved unpopular with the legislature, Democrats and Republicans alike.

Is it ever to early to start picking sides?  Sure the 2008 election has not even hit its peak yet, but it’s never too early to start talking about 2010.  At least that is how it seems when you look at my inbox today. 

Earlier today, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan announced he would be stepping down later this month. 

HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania state legislature has entered a panicked frenzy this week as lawmakers race to approve the budget, which leadership reached a handshake agreement on early Monday morning. Most lawmakers wanted to be out of Harrisburg by Friday.

But that's not likely to happen, according to Capitolwire (subscription required).

An attempt Wednesday night to work past 11 p.m., when the House is supposed to adjourn, failed when lawmakers complained it was ran contrary to reforms the House tried to make after the pay-raise scandal in 2005.

That prompted House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D-Greene County) to say the House will probably need to work Friday and Saturday.