Potential Republican vice presidential candidate Rob Portman is already being hectored with job requests before he even knows if he’ll be Sen. John McCain’s running mate.
 
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, receiving an award on Wednesday night for her work on trade, turned the spotlight on Portman who had introduced her on stage.
 
Portman, a former Ohio congressman now widely mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for McCain, was briefly U.S. trade representative before becoming President George W. Bush’s budget director and then returning to private practice.
 
Schwab plied him with compliments, insisting that any of the accomplishments she’s made since becoming the top trade negotiator two years ago were because of the groundwork that Portman had laid.
 
“I thank you for your leadership. I thank you for your vision and while you’re here and perhaps contemplating the vetting process, I thought maybe I’d give you my resume,” Schwab said to laughter from the Washington International Trade Association, a group of mostly lobbyists and lawyers.
 
“Just remember me assuming you end up where many of us hope to see you,” Schwab said, to more applause.
 
Portman looked at the resume, held it up for the audience to see, grinned and left the stage. 

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Portman in 2007 testifying on Capitol Hill)