Pawlenty for VP, maybe--but what's next for Michael Williams?

Do you know Michael Williams of Arlington?

That's him on the right in this photo. He leads the Texas Railroad Commission, which is actually the state energy agency.

He is also one of the most prominent African-American Republican elected officials in America, which is why a lawyer from Arlington wound up alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Wednesday at the Republicans' "Not Ready '08" response to the Democratic National Convention.

Williams touted John McCain's "all of the above" energy policy, which calls for conservation and alternative energy sources along with offshore drilling and more nuclear power plants.

"After the rhetoric is over and Americans think about energy costs, Senator McCain has a plan that's good for American families, American workers, and creation of jobs," Williams said.

He also said he shares all black Americans' pride in Barack Obama's nomination. But he quoted a Martin Luther King Jr. speech about how young black Americans must always be prepared.

"We must call attention to the fact that [Obama's] record is enormously thin," Williams said. "That's what Dr. King would have asked me to do."

You'll see him on TV next week speaking the same night as McCain at the Republican convention.

--Bud Kennedy