McCain-Pawlenty Web Domain Purchased

Republican state representative who worked for Tim Pawlenty's 2002 gubernatorial campaign has purchased the online domain name "mccain-pawlenty.com," with his eyes trained not on Pawlenty's re-election bid this year but on 2008.

Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, said he plunked down the $12 on his own, to foil Internet "squatters" who buy up domain names that may be valuable in the future. "I wasn't asked to do it, I wasn't told to do it," he said Friday.

But it comes in a week where Pawlenty and Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who's a leading 2008 presidential contender, made several joint appearances in Minnesota and stoked speculation of a possible 2008 partnership.

Garofalo, who was elected to the state House in 2004, is a young computer engineer who volunteered as a technology adviser in Pawlenty's 2002 run. More....