Updated 5:21 p.m.: We humbly beg to differ with Newsweek's Paul Begala whose column in this week's issue begins, "You heard it here first: Mitt Romney is going to select Rob Portman, the junior senator from Ohio, to be his running mate."  Maybe so, but we've heard it before.  National Journal's Major Garrett made the same pronouncement just as emphatically in a piece for The Atlantic that ran days earlier than Begala's. Garrett's piece opened: "Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee, Wisconsin sealed the deal, and he will pick Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio as his running mate." 

And before Shortly after that, Politico's Maggie Haberman made the same suggestion, writing, "Right now, the name on the lips of most GOP strategists is Ohio senator and former George W. Bush administration official Rob Portman." One thing's pretty clear: Whoever said it first definitely didn't say it last. 

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