This is his first shot. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s the beginning of TPaw laying a foundation for his candidacy so we can make a rational judgment about whether he should be our candidate or not.

If he’s smart, he doesn’t.

Going onto non-[Candidate X] threads and trying to pump up [Candidate X] as a potential/better/theoretical candidate has been, historically speaking, a counterproductive exercise. What generally happens is that people who get irritated by such behavior start to associate that irritation with [Candidate X].

no reason to snipe at Romney, there will be others in this race that will attack him mercilessly. Pawlenty can look like the good guy and keep his nose dry on Romeny

However, I think a belief that Fedzilla can and will reform itself before we go over the cliff, things will magically turn to like they were in 1989 and we can all go back to sleep again is nothing more than wishful thinking. This election, I believe is likely our last chance for reform, if it is even possible, before we find ourselvess buried in the wreckage of the nanny state.

I’d like to suggest caution that whomever we nominate to replace Obama needs to have a solid commitment to return the police power taken from the states over the last several decades, rather than use it in order to try to manipulate us in another way – because that can always be undone or bastardized into something horrific such as the supposed “Free-market solution” to housing. or many other things done with the best of intentions that turn malign, like turning Medicare and Medicaid into rationing and death panels. We owe it to posterity to put a stop to the madness of the nanny state, return to genuine free market capitalism and ensure that if we cannot do that, that no Republican will be anywhere near the wreckage when we finally hit the bottom.

I lost count regarding how many times I have wished that GW had not been president when the financial system hit the wall and that John McCain, not a good crisis guy, had not been our nominee. It really doesn’t matter since there is very little use in crying over spilled milk, but it does provide useful information for the future.

Comparing someone that implemented universal healthcare to someone that created a commission to look into it and then rejected it…

I don’t see how Romney could ever use that against him.

Universal Health Care and the individual mandate and decided against it saying it wasn’t for the citizens of MN nor America?

Imagine the Thin-Skinned One in a debate, where his own words – lying, contradictory, hypocritical words – are quoted at him!

Any candidate will have almost 4 years of verbal ammunition against BIG BRObama, including the most recent duplicitous speech on Israel’s 1967 borders. Besides plans for ever-increasing taxation, the litany of taxes and fees already raised on everyone, the promise of higher energy costs, the odds are that unemployment will not budge much (unfortunately).

I have some very talented 8th Graders whom I would trust in the White House more than this doublethinking dictator wannabe.

And Pawlenty is showing some courage by promoting the unvarnished truth about agriculture subsidies, and avoiding the temptation to waffle on this conservative principle because Iowa has a disproportionate leverage on the primary schedule.

Courage on subsidy issues. Focus on the correct target (Obama) rather than fellow Republicans. Freely admitting past mistakes and firmly moving to correct (i.e. cap-and-trade). This is a strategy for success.

I think T-Paw is definitely off to a good start.

But I get your drift. Pawlenty was more than adequate in the first debate, and has released 2 great videos. He definitely comes across as the adult in the room compared to Obama. I do like Cain, but having read your other posts about Pawlenty and the need for experience, I get that 2012 is not the year to break somebody in. Imagine how much worse things might be if Obama actually had some experience, so it’s imperative that we elect a president who knows how to undo the harm that’s been done and move the country in the right direction. If Pawlenty can show the side of himself from the video a little more in the debates, speeches, etc., I think he’s the nominee. I’m just not seeing any downside at this point.