AMES — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty today called Sen. Barack Obama too risky to be president.

“The people of the United States and Iowa are wise,” he said. “Voting for Obama is the political equivalent of bungee jumping.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was in Ames today campaigning for Sen. John McCain.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was in Ames today campaigning for Sen. John McCain.

Speaking at the grand opening of the Tom Latham for Congress and Victory 2008 headquarters in Ames, Pawlenty said Sen. John McCain has a long record of wisdom and judgment, something Obama can’t match.

“We do not want the next president to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the world we live in,” he said.

Pawlenty has long been considered near the top of the list to become McCain’s running mate. However, he wouldn’t discuss that possibility, saying he has officially stopped talking about the vice presidency to the press.

“Every time I comment it sets off more stories and talk that I think is distracting to the campaign,” he said. “I’m honored to have my name mentioned in that discussion, but I don’t talk about it anymore.”

Energy policy ruled the day, with Pawlenty pointing out the differences in how the two candidates for president would try to deal with skyrocketing energy prices.

“Sen. McCain understands that energy independence is the key,” he said. He went on to site expanded nuclear power, offshore drilling and a gas tax holiday as examples of McCain ideas that Obama does not support.

One issue that has riled some in the Midwest is McCain’s position on ethanol. He has been a long-time opponent of ethanol subsidies, and in his 2000 presidential campaign he doubted its efficacy as a fuel source. Many believe he used ethanol to symbolically establish his status as a maverick.

The Iowa Democratic Party raised the issue again today with a press release pointing to McCain’s opposition to ethanol and his support of “tax cuts to oil companies already making record profits.”

Pawlenty, who called himself “as big a booster of ethanol as anyone in the country,” said the issue will cause concern, but it should be pointed out that McCain is a supporter of next generation fuels.

“But he is against government subsidies,” he said. “Not just on ethanol, but on everything.”

Most of the people in attendance said they hoped Pawlenty ends up on the ticket with McCain. Boone resident Paul Dayton, who considers himself a very conservative Republican, said choosing Pawlenty as his running mate could help McCain with social conservatives, a group that has been suspicious of McCain in the past. He said those who supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the darling of the social conservatives who won the Iowa Caucuses, would be swayed to support McCain if he chose a conservative like Pawlenty.

The Latham for Congress and Victory 2008 headquarters, which supports John McCain and other Republican candidates.

The Latham for Congress and Victory 2008 headquarters in Ames, which supports John McCain and other Republican candidates.

“I think a lot of people are waiting to see who he picks,” Dayton said. “I think if he picks a more moderate person to run with him he could be in trouble.”

Pawlenty said social conservatives are getting behind McCain’s candidacy, pointing to his stands on same-sex marriage, abortion and gun rights as examples to prove that the Arizona senator is a mainstream conservative.

“There is still work to do the win those voters over, but I think we’re doing a good job,” he said.

During his opening remarks, Pawlenty struck what’s become a familiar battle cry here in Iowa for McCain: he will appoint justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who will “interpret the law as written, not make it up as they go along.”