PHILADELPHIA -- To quote the organization's chairman, last weekend's National Governors Association meeting was not "the epicenter of political activity in an election year."

"I don't think that many people pay attention to our meetings," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said. "I wish they did."

But in this relative summer lull in campaigning for John McCain and Barack Obama, the gathering did offer the small contingent of media a closer look at some would-be running mates together in one place.

"It is interesting seeing a number of my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, who are on people's lists for VP and to watch them maybe once in a while audition when the camera's on," said Brad Henry of Oklahoma. He is one of the few Democratic governors whose name has not found its way onto many short lists, but "it doesn't bother me, trust me."

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D), one of dozens of former governors on hand for the NGA's centennial celebration, said there was a similar climate in 2004, when he was on John Kerry's short list. Confident that he's not being considered this year, he enjoyed needling at least one former colleague, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), when vice presidential speculation came up in one of the open forums.

Vilsack said he took note of a number of things in observing would-be veeps. For instance, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) made remarks with no notes and "no hesitation," Vilsack said, while Pawlenty delivered his speech from a teleprompter. "Was anyone watching that? I was," he said.

Most of the other state chief executives on hand discouraged such speculation, even as some of the leading contenders agreed to interviews knowing full well what kinds of questions might come up.

"I've been asked several times today on this issue, and many times throughout the weekend," Pawlenty said, before going on to note that he has not "been asked to submit any tax returns or documents to the McCain campaign."

"I never talk about my conversations with the campaign," Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) said when he got "the question."

"All of the discussion about the running mates are really coming from the campaign itself," Sebelius said.

"I really doubt that such a thing would happen," Alaska Republican Sarah Palin demurred.

Some other governors on the short list of public opinion found a way to avoid the chatter altogether. Govs. Bobby Jindal, R-La., Charlie Crist, R-Fla., and Bill Richardson, D-N.M., were among those who stayed clear of Philadelphia all weekend.

Where's The Gov Love?

For the first time in more than three decades, neither major party has nominated a current or former governor for president. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there was no consensus among the governors in Philadelphia that one (or two) of their own should be selected in the veep round.

"I think the last governor that was nominated for VP was Spiro Agnew, so I think you got to take some of this with a grain of salt," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a two-term Democrat.

One reason for the shortage of governors tapped for VP in recent years has been the preponderance of presidential nominees who have been chief executives, thus making it more appealing to balance the ticket with senatorial experience.

Still, Napolitano said, governors "bring certain skills to the table" worth considering.

"They are managers," she said. "Because of their position as governor they are deeply familiar with a whole host of things, domestic and foreign."

Pawlenty countered that it would be "looking at it too narrowly" to suggest that someone should be chosen simply to provide a balance of resumes.

"I think you just want to find somebody who can first and foremost be president of the United States," he said. "That should be the first criteria.... There's no rule that's written that if somebody's a senator you have to have a governor for vice president, or vise versa."

But the perspective of someone who has managed a state would be valuable, said Henry, who joked that someone coming from the legislative branch doesn't "quite know how to get things done."

Rendell said that in this election, McCain, not Obama, would be better served by choosing a governor, someone who "had experience handling an economy." Obama, he said, would be better off choosing "someone with foreign policy credentials," naming a group of senators who fit the bill.

But Napolitano said the idea that governors don't have foreign policy experience is "anachronistic," a view shared by other colleagues.

"The job of governor has changed considerably," Vilsack said. "When I became a governor, I didn't really have a full appreciation for the commander-in-chief role that I had. Eight years later, it's the one thing I really, really do understand.... It's not fully appreciated for how much breadth there is in being a governor."

"Most governors have been to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit," Kaine said, adding that governors also have "deep commercial experience.

"Governors do a tremendous amount of economic activity internationally because we've got to be aggressive global players."

Vilsack's Vetting 101

Tom Vilsack knew he was on the shortest of short lists, and he knows who else was on it.

"They had mock-ups of the plane and signs and all that jazz, for all three of us," he said.

In the end, John Kerry picked North Carolina Sen. John Edwards over Vilsack and former Missiouri Rep. Dick Gephardt after what Vilsack described as an exhaustive process.

"They'll start with 50 names, and most of the time the names that are early mentioned aren't even serious," he said. That list will get pared down to a "more manageable number," and then a team of lawyers and researchers will "get to know that person as well as that person knows themselves."

Everything at that point is fair game, Vilsack said, including the potential veep's spouse.

"That was probably the one thing that surprised me the most, is how much what your spouse has done, said, written makes a difference," he said. When asked if he agreed with Obama's alleged view that choosing New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate would mean a "complication" in the form of Bill Clinton, Vilsack countered that the former president -- and former Arkansas governor -- would be an "extraordinary asset, on a multitude of levels."

Once the vetting committee has examined a person's record and paperwork, her or she is called in for a cross-examination. For Vilsack, that lasted seven hours, as he and his wife were questioned on every potentially problematic vote, budget item, executive order or financial holding.

At that point, Vilsack said, it's likely that the candidate will get more deeply engaged, and the search committee and the campaign will look to put the two individuals together, especially if the short-listee is not well known to the nominee. A personal relationship, Vilsack said, could be a "tie-breaker."

"You're going to want somebody that you got good chemistry with," he said. "And if you know the person, and you know that person well, and you've worked with that person or you are comfortable with that person, that may make a difference."

Despite reporters' best efforts, Vilsack said, they'll never know when the final interviews take place. The running mate, his or her team and the nominee's campaign are all sworn to secrecy.

"They are not going to make a mistake," he said of Obama's team. "They're going to have a great, great candidate. Of that I'm absolutely confident."

His choice? Hillary Clinton.

"If it's not, I hope it's one of my former colleagues as a governor," he said. "But I'm one citizen."

They Were Vetters Before They Were Vettees

A number of governors here know a thing or two about a vetting process. Roughly half of the states elect governors on a ticket with a lieutenant governor, and these gubernatorial candidates face a similar process as they make their picks, albeit on a much smaller scale.

One unique example is Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), who in 2004 made his running-mate selection into a bit of a public spectacle, offering anyone the opportunity to apply for the No. 2 job.

"I took resumes from more than 200 people. I interviewed 150 people in the process," he said. "Truck drivers, nurses, teachers, farmers, people who had been in politics, people who had not been in politics."

In the end, Schweitzer picked a former politician, John Bohlinger. But even this pick was unique, as Bohlinger was a Republican.

"People said it couldn't be done, [but] it's been very successful in Montana," Schweitzer said. "If the executive branch can work together, Republicans and Democrats, it sends a clear signal to these political parties: The baloney's over. We're working together."

He said Obama should consider doing the same.

"He has to build a personal relationship with whomever he chooses for this position," said Schweitzer, who is running for re-election this year, with Bohlinger again on the ticket. "[But] I'm not going to presume to tell Barack Obama how to run his campaign, because I think he's run the best campaign in the history of this country."

In Minnesota, Pawlenty went through a more traditional process in choosing Carol Molnau as his running mate.

"She was somebody I had known for a number of years, had worked with, had a friendship with, understood where she stood on values and principles and issues, and I had somebody I liked, knew and respected," he said.

"What any candidate would look at, whether it's a presidential candidate or a gubernatorial candidate, certainly includes whether that person is compatible with you both personally and politically," he said. "You want to see if they have certain strengths that might complement your assets or weaknesses."

In Alaska, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor campaign separately in primaries and do not combine as a ticket until the general election. But Sarah Palin faces a potential search this year if her lieutenant governor, Sean Parnell, is successful in his bid for Congress.

"I look forward to getting to engage in that progress," she said, adding that she would look to choose someone who could "show me that they want to serve for the right reasons."

"I envy McCain getting to go through the process that he's going through," said Palin, who says she has not been told if she's on his short list. "You certainly get to hear a lot of good ideas and meet a lot of good people."