Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)--who had been on the short list for a vice president pick--and a long guest list of lobbyists mingled this afternoon at a fete sponsored by the travel industry in the Carlson Hangar at the St. Paul Airport this afternoon. (Pawlenty is pictured here doing photo ops with attendees.)

They munched on doughnuts, Philly cheese steaks, popcorn, roast peanuts and enjoyed the open bar as they mingled. Around the venue were signs proclaiming, "Vote for travel! Vote for hospitality! Vote for real estate!" Sponsors included the American Hotel & Lodging Association, National Real Estate Organizations, Carlson, International Franchise Asssociation, Marriott, Starwood, and the Travel Industry Association.

And Party Time was there, thanks to our intrepid communications director, Gabriela Schneider. She  found an invitation to this event at another party the other night. We breezed right through the five checkpoints as we drove through a maze of roads at the private airport.

Inside we recognized Robert Dibblee, a lobbyist for the National Association  Real Estate Investment Trusts, who is the host of many congressional fundraisers back in Washington, D.C., why the industry hosted this event and a similar one in Denver.

He said that it was an opportunity to educate people about the tourism industry. I asked him what sort of audience they were aiming at, hosting events at political conventions. He said that it was a chance to talk to lawmakers, although there was "nothing specific" that they were discussing. I mentioned that these events were closed to the public. He said that was for "security concerns" but that they could give out inviations to the public, and that there were regular Minnesotans in attendance. (We have all this on tape but the audio is far from perfect.)