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Tim Pawlenty will officially be running for President tomorrow.

Since it seems to be a theme in headlines.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  May 22nd, 2011 at 11:14 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The word is that former Governor Tim Pawlenty will officially announce tomorrow in a town hall in Des Moines, Iowa; judging from his campaign videos, this will be heralded by an overflight of a squadron of F-15E Strike Eagles, an announcement that Minnesota genetic researchers have recreated the passenger pigeon, and T-Paw personally leading a mission to disable the Yellowstone super-volcano caldera before it erupts and destroys the North American continent.

Also, there will be pie.

I kid, I kid: but Tim Pawlenty is certainly taking this campaign highly seriously, and I expect that he’ll be upping said campaigning a good deal in the next few months.  With Mike Huckabee and Mitch Daniels out, it’s increasingly looking like Pawlenty is lining up to be the guy to go to if you don’t want to support Romney*.  Despite the fact that (at the moment) I am tending towards formally personally endorsing Pawlenty for the nomination, I would actually prefer that the field remain crowded for a bit longer.  If only because it frustrates the Democrats so not to have an obvious target for their upcoming smear campaign.

Last thought: you have to wonder whether Rick Perry of Texas is taking a second look.  Right now Pawlenty’s in an excellent position to clean up in South Carolina, but Perry could win that state’s primary.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*I cannot really assess at this point the likelihood of a successful Herman Cain and/or Michele Bachmann campaign.  The odds are long against outsider and/or House of Representative candidates: we tend to like governors and/or Senators for President.  The last one we’ve had that hadn’t been either first was Eisenhower, and he had the advantage of having “Pounded the Nazis into the ground” on his resume.

Jon Huntsman?  Not a chance.  Like Erick Erickson, I’m not happy at Huntsman’s sense of timing.

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  • Stan

    Sigh. This is just one opinion, but it seems like we’re suffering from an over abundance of mediocrity so far. Romney? He’s like a really bad clone of Bill Clinton – he says whatever he thinks you want to hear, hypocrisy notwithstanding. Newt came out with guns blazing – unfortunately, he had them pointing back at himself. Pawlenty? I’m sorry, but he has all the personality of a baked potato. Santorum? The quintessential definition of “fringe”. And unfortunately, I just don’t think Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann are electable. They both are just too polarizing. And then there’s Ron Paul and Gary Johnson – they remind me of Elmer Fudd and Jerry Garcia, respectively.

    For me, I’m hoping against hope that Chris Christie will see the light, and jump into the race. I think that would give the GOP a decent chance of showing “our dear leader” to the unemployment line come January of ’13. But unless that happens, it looks pretty bleak right now.

  • http://www.LifeNews.com Steven Ertelt

    Pawlenty is a strong fiscal conservative who vetoed tax increases and held the line on spending (see http://bit.ly/jtfqBV ) and did such a good job that the Cato Institute gave him an A grade at the end of his two terms (see http://bit.ly/h1OAWZ ).

    He is also conservative on social issues, including racking up an impressive record on pro-life issues (see http://bit.ly/fu4XLe ).

    A two-term governor of a blue state who was re-elected by a bigger margin the second time around. Experience, well-spoken on the issues, and a good man at a time when we have an egomaniac in the White House.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    NT

  • desertwanderer

    He forced public unions in the transportation sector to back down on outrageous demands, he shut down the government and forced the dems to negotiate, and he cut taxes. The Cato Institute gave him an “A” for his performance as governor. In addition, he is a true “3-stooled” conservative, unlike Romney, Christie, Huntsman, et al.

    He is a genuinely likable guy. With all due respect, we tried “flashy” and “attractive” with Obama and that has been an abject failure. With Pawlenty, you get steady, competent and accomplished. I am thrilled that he is making his presidential run official.

  • paramedichess

    Do you want a president who gives amazing speeches, excites the crowds, makes women pass out, and sends tingles up grown men’s legs? You have him, he is in the Oval Office, and he is ruining our country. Some of our best presidents were somewhat boring and uninspiring, but they knew how to lead and make good decisions in tough times. Pawlenty did this in Minnesota, and he can do it in the White House.

  • kajun

    Personally I think you left out another possibility and is Herman Cain. He’s not tied to the political strings these other people have and maybe he’s the ‘fresh start’ that we need.

  • Martin Knight

    In fact, that’s part and parcel of running a campaign.

  • acat

    Pawlenty/Cain – liberal heads explode, red meat festival, blandwagon rolls on near-unstoppable. Good midwestern/southern mix.

    Pawlenty/Palin – liberal (and a few establishment) heads explode red meat festival, blandwagon rolls on. Rather nothern-centric ticket, but Palin does well in the south.

    Pawlenty/Bachmann – potential constitutional problem, can the veep and potus be from the same State? Blandwagon may run into some ruts…

    Just sayin’.

    Mew

  • zornorph

    Pawlenty/Rubio. I’ve been saying that’ll be the ticket for a month or so and I think it even more, now. I think it locks down FL, gives the ticket an extra helping of Charisma, brings some more Tea Party flavor and can’t exactly hurt with Hispanic voters.

  • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

    Pawlenty/Jindal. Loads of experience, and in all the right areas.

  • lineholder

    in the direction of abusing the Constitution and ignoring the law with this administration, the more I find myself hoping that someone like Jindal will play a prominent role in the next admin. His legal credentials are excellent, and the experiences he’s been facing in LA during the past few years have brought about a level of maturity that I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to see.

  • http://pocketchangeproductions.net/ anotherindyfilmguy

    Is that *any/someone* will be opposite the O…
    hOpefully that candidate will be someone who is not either:
    snoozer
    dem-lite
    RINO
    like the last time…
    but then again at this point I’m thinking the R’s could run Godzilla or Mothra against the O and win…

    On a side note I want to see Palin running as either a primary candidate or as a VP because at least she publicly calls out the press on their lefty/democrat/socialist bias. Without her McCain would have likely lost by a much larger margin. Plus. like 99.999999 percent of the rest of the country she could likely do a better job at either job than the two career corruptocrats in office as pOtus and vp now.

  • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

    I know a lot of people are enamored with the American Idol candidates of Bachman, Palin & Cain, but for me, I’m interested in slow and steady. Pawlenty has stood up to his legislature, so we know he has the will and ability to do it. He’s a solid social conservative, and he’s really a regular Joe. Jindal’s experience as Governor, and extensive knowledge of healthcare and energy would make this a winning combination. They both exude success.

  • acat

    Jindal would be very good, and is young enough to be able to run for POTUS himself in 2016 or 2020.

    Mew

  • lineholder

    what I question right now about both of them is whether either one of them can generate the enthusiasm in a broad enough spectrum of voters to get people proactively engaged on the R side between now and Nov. 2012.

    And that is something we have to consider, whether we like it or not…the enthusiasm factor will make a difference in getting enough voters to the voting booth to beat Obama.

    What I do NOT want is another big-government Repub prone to reach across the aisle more than they should in there.

  • paramedichess

    I’m all in for Pawlenty/Rubio or Pawlenty/Jindal. I think Rubio on the ticket is a little bit stronger, as he helps in FL, helps with hispanics, and after the election brings some Washington experience to the administration. I would be excited about either one though.

  • 20jan2013

    apologies to SP:B,L,&U.

  • Stan

    I don’t understand the question, Moe. Like I said, it was just an opinion. I could get fired up about Chris Christe, but he’s said over & over he isn’t running. I could also get fired up about Rick Perry – seems like he’s done a fair job in Texas, complete with standing up to Obama. I’d also like to see Bobby Jindal give it a go. I know his response to the SOTU wasn’t so hot, but his response during the oil spill more than made up for it. And referencing one of the other responses on this post, no, I’m not just looking for exciting speeches with nothing to back them up. We currently have that type of “empty suit”, and we all know how crappy that is.

    Please don’t get me wrong – I’d vote for my dog Bucky before I’d pull the lever for “our dear leader”. ANYTHING would be better than what we’ve got. But we saw in 2008 how a milquetoast candidate demotivated conservative voters. Hopefully, someone like Herman Cain (or Christie, or Perry, or Jindal) will fill the bill. I just don’t see a motivator (anything like a Ronald Reagan) currently, but I hope one emerges.

  • Stan

    You said it better than I did.

  • rememberthealamo

    Is this the best we can do? Not knocking my socks off here! Don’t see TPaw going toe to toe with Obama. And if you’re looking for a Gov, Perry has a better, years longer track record on Conservative issues

    Try this for Electoral College size; Perry/Rubio

  • YnotNOW

    As there are many candidates that are much preferable to what we had last cycle – making the comparison to McCain totally unfair.

    Conservatives need to stop looking for the perfect, and instead be excited that we have some good candidates who are much preferable to Obama and have a strong chance of beating him.

  • lineholder

    in the past few days that there is a very strong anti-Washington political environment out there in the general public right now. I’ve known it, and recognized it, but the full extent of what it could mean regarding the upcoming election I hadn’t fully absorbed.

    That kind of environment is going to make it tough, even for the best of experienced candidates, to make a lot of headway on the enthusiasm factor. The general public could have so much bias about it that they just won’t get enthusiastic about those candidates. OTOH, a candidate like Cain might end up doing very well in that kind of environment, as the outsider, so I’m glad he’s in the race, and especially on our side of the political spectrum. We’ll just have to see how it goes, try to gauge how the general public is responding, and go from there.

  • Michael Dugas

    looking for “perfection”, the very best candidate, whatever you want to call that person, until the primaries are over. Then get 100% behind the selection. But until that time we should strive for whoever is closest to perfection on the chance that we might get that person elected.

  • Michael Dugas

    Or….Bachmann/Cain. Liberals AND Establishment Republicans heads explode and red meat for everyone! Hopefully the Libs who say they’ll move out of country if this happens actually keep their word.
    A guy can dream no?

  • Michael Dugas

    And he was pretty adamant that a 2012 POTUS run was not in the cards. Though 2016 and beyond was open….=)

  • Michael Dugas

    I’m not sure I agree with you though on the well spoken part. Time and debates will tell.

  • Michael Dugas

    Anyone wanna take a bet on that? I’m positive she is not interested in POTUS or VPOTUS right now.

  • lineholder
  • rememberthealamo

    No way she’d be offered VP again. Just not done. It’s either run for Pres or Senate or ….nothing. Like Sarah alot, but think she’s blown some political opportunities. If Bachman gets in, she will take some of the light from Sarah.

  • gekster

    no telling how far she will go.

  • Stan

    I keep trying to envision the televised debates between Obama and the GOP nominee. I could see Christie making the pres look like the nincompoop he really is – firing up not only the base, but that broad spectrum of voters that lineholder talks about. I could see Perry doing that as well, since he’s held the line on taxes in Texas, understands the energy industry, and has been able to attract business to his state. To be honest, I just don’t see Gov. Pawlenty handling a debate with “the one”.

    That being said, if TPaw is the GOP nominee, then I’m in all the way.

  • rememberthealamo

    What kind of pie?

  • concap

    If Gingrich is going to run, and there is no way I would vote for him in the primaries, he should VP if Cain gets the nomination.

    Know one running yet, knows the back alleys of government better then him.

    He could help keep Cain out of trouble and watch his back till he knows his way around.

  • 20jan2013
  • 20jan2013

    but the idea has merit…definitely merit. Rubio would make a great veep to any ticket. And he keeps his Senate seat if he loses, so win-win for him.

    Watch the Democrats lose the Latino voters even more than they already have!

  • travelkingnh

    I know there are a lot of questions about Pawlenty’s charisma factor, but honestly, based upon his trips/presentations in NH so far, he is far more spirited than he gets credit for. I am thrilled that he is taking the next step.

    I expect him to find his campaigning “legs” in New Hampshire, and give Romney a real run for his money. T-Paw may not win New Hampshire…….it is pretty much Romney’s to lose. A Romney lost in NH, it would just kill any excitement he could possibly generate. Romney HAS to win New Hampshire.

    If Pawlenty runs a strong second in NH, after a #1 or #2 in Iowa, he will have some great momentum heading into SC……..game on!

  • A.M. Prescott

    Everything from the passage of ObamaCare to the sabotage of our economy has been perpetrated against the will of the people by a President actively seeking reelection. What would America look like after a few months of Obama: The Sequel? I shudder to think.

    The most important question we should be asking of GOP primary candidates AT THIS STAGE is: “Who has the best shot at beating Obama?”

    I know, I know. It’s the economy, stupid. But we can’t camp on that and assume even a monkey could beat The Messiah. We need to give Americans someone compelling to vote FOR, not just someone to vote against.

    In other words, CHARISMA MATTERS.

    Thanks to charisma and a massive fundraising machine, Romney could have beaten The One in 2008. Romney 2012 is another story entirely. He’ll raise an ocean of money and still sink under the millstone of being Obama-Lite.

    I’ve tried calling Newt Gingrich’s office to make sure he realizes it’s not 1994 anymore. So far, he’s not taking my calls. In the meantime, I’m trying to stifle the schadenfreude of watching “intellectual conservatism” implode faster than “compassionate conservatism.”

    Speaking of schadenfreude, there’s always Ron Paul and his legion of anarcho-capitalists minions. I’d say more on that subject but they’ve already started posting semi-literate replies laced with words like “neo-con,” “the Fed,” and “statist, imperialist scum.” Which means I’ve done what I set out to do.

    Pawlenty and Santorum are nice guys. With conservative bona fides, I might add. But credentials can’t help in the White House if they never make it that far. Part of charisma is the willingness to stop playing nice and get your opponent bloody. I just don’t see that from TPaw or Santorum.

    Which leaves (more or less) Palin, Bachmann and Cain. All three have charisma, conservative bona fides, and a willingness to come out swinging and get Obama bloody.

    The standout is Herman Cain. Yes, he’s a longshot. He’s also generating the highest “positive intensity” score among the entire GOP field, according to Gallup. Cain could rewrite Obama’s entire reelection strategy simply by winning the GOP nomination. What is Obama going to hold out as his premier accomplishment against a challenger like Cain? Foreign policy acumen?

    To save the Ron Paul peeps another enraged reply, I will stipulate that Cain supported TARP and also chaired the Fed in Kansas City. If you have any NEW reasons why Herman Cain is the devil, let me know. (In the meantime, Ron Paul will continue to cash his Fed-issued government paycheck as he has for over 20 years.)

    I’ll vote for whomever wins the GOP nomination in opposition to Obama, holding my nose if necessary. But at this point in the game, I refuse to divorce charisma from conservative qualifications. We need a Ronald Reagan, not a Bob Dole. The stakes are too high to send anything less against Obama.

  • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

    The anti-Obama sentiment will be more than strong enough to overcome any R candidate’s lack of charisma. Give me experience over rhetoric any day.

  • barbbtx

    That’s been my dream ticket for months now.
    Cain said on Hannity’s radio show he would consider Bachmann, DeMint, or Coburn. When Hannity mentioned Rubio or West, he said absolutely, if they would be interested.

  • abeldred

    Says not now for Perry. He’s a good campaigner and would rip O a new one in a debate but the country isn’t prepared for another “cowboy” from Tx. I would like to see an outsider like Cain paired with someone who knows foreign policy and the ropes in D.C. I am also anxious for the laughs sure to come when the pundits and the press start to accuse a self-made Southern black man of racism for criticizing O.

  • phenry

    SNL is going to be spoofing his ads as movie previews before long.

  • Adjoran

    Governors, sure, after that come sitting Vice Presidents and Generals with wartime accomplishments.

    We have only once elected a sitting Representative – Garfield, and only three times a sitting Senator – Harding, Kennedy, and Obama. Interestingly, no President elected as a sitting member of Congress has yet finished a term alive.

    There is an old saying that every Senator looks in the mirror and sees a President, and it is sad but only too true. It is also true that the Senate since the ratification of the 17th Amendment is probably the worst source of candidates of Presidential timber. It is a collection of rich miscreants drunk with their own importance, a place where humanity goes to degrade itself.

  • trp878

    Right now we have quite a slate (and growing) for presidential potentials. I, as member of “We the People”, a vet, senior and God loving man, am having a difficult time trying to select one to support. As previously stated in an preceding post, “a candidate is needed that will appeal to the voting electorate at large”. What we need is one that loves and believes in God, is all for America, for the American citizens, for what is right for this country, for good clear wholesome values, someone to motivate, hype, excite, incite “We the People” and last but not least a Candidate with some fortitude (guts) to tell it like it is regardless of the (P.C.), special interest groups or lobbyists. Some previous examples of being gutsy are, palin, brewer, christie, walker, bachmann, west, north, Patton, Puller, Nappi and others you know of specifically. This is a difficult position for a candidate, however, that is what is needed in a President of the United States.
    Someone who will stand out and be acceptable to us, true, “God and America” loving citizens. Not until and when that candidate steps up, takes, believes, lives and responds as that gutsy candidate, will we have that “appealing person”. I’m still looking and waiting for that individual to come forward to lead, excite, incite and hype me up as a Real President should do for this great country. Some might say this is a person that is almost a Super Hero and doesn’t exist, but that individual is out there and we (the God and America loving people) need to find him. With the present slate there is not one that stands out or has the GUTS to appeal to the general electorate.

  • A.M. Prescott

    I guess I’m just anxious for someone to be running rings around the UN again. I miss that.

  • YnotNOW

    So, yes, look for the one who comes closest to perfection (however each of us defines that standard), but don’t get depressed that none can actually meet that standard. A little perspective, and then we can support our choices wholeheartedly.

  • YnotNOW

    So, yes, look for the one who comes closest to perfection (however each of us defines that standard), but don’t get depressed that none can actually meet that standard. A little perspective, and then we can support our choices wholeheartedly.