Just when the punditocracy in the protracted Romney Veepstakes watch had settled on the frequency of Wikipedia edits as the predictive tea leaf du jour, comedian Stephen Colbert clouded the waters with a prank that forced Wiki administrators to lock down Tim Pawlenty’s page.

Colbert, declaring “I like friend-of-the-show Tim Pawlenty,” decided to goose the former Minnesota governor’s chances by altering his Wikipedia entry on Comedy Central:

T-Paw was born in St. Paul Minnesota... let's edit that to 'The Minnesota town of St. Paul is where born Tim Pawlenty was.' He was the son of Eugene Joseph Pawlenty, and let's say... Mrs. Butterworth. Intending to become a dentist, Pawlenty started his career in... Santa's Workshop.

Observing that in the new media world Wikipedia IS reality, Colbert used the schtick to declare Pawlenty Mitt Romney’s pick on Aug 10, the date some pundits have chosen as the likely roll-out date.

He invited others to do the same for their favorite GOP candidates.

But viewers who tried it at home Wednesday encountered a lock logo and the text: “This page is currently protected and can be edited only by administrators .”