Vice President Portman?

What do you think?

It's still more than a year from the 2008 presidential primary elections, after which the winning candidate typically chooses their vice presidential candidate.

But the buzz surrounding Terrace Park's Rob Portman, the White House budget director and a former area congressman, has already started.

Last Tuesday, Portman and his wife, Jane, were in Washington to attend the annual Bryce Harlow Foundation dinner, during which Portman was honored with the Bryce Harlow Award.

This award is given each year to a "distinguished public official who has contributed to the building of strong business-government relations." Previous honorees include Minority Leader John Boehner of West Chester (2005) and Vice President Dick Cheney (1992).

At the dinner, Portman was introduced by Louisiana Rep. Jim McCrery, the top Republican on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, who couldn't help throwing out publicly what many on the Hill have been saying privately:

"He'd be a great next vice presidential candidate," McCrery said - to much applause.