tpaw pretzel DC pacGov. Pawlenty continued his attacks on Barack Obama today, saying the president is “spending the country into bankruptcy,” is “projecting potential weakness” to America’s enemies, and has “governed in an extremely liberal way.”

Pawlenty told the conservative website Newsmax that Obama has

a philosophy that government knows best, a nanny-state mentality on domestic issues that will ultimately be corrosive to the other pillars of our country — to markets, private enterprise, individual responsibility, freedom and liberty.

And T-Paw has what it takes to stop nannies from corroding pillars. On health care, Pawlenty pitches his plan to let companies sell coverage across state lines, adding

we need to make it more affordable for individuals and families, businesses, and governmental entities. But instead they are now focused substantially on expanding access.

If Obama is the object of scorn, Pawlenty’s home state doesn’t fare much better in his speeches. He has made Minnesota a punchline in past talks, but last week managed to draw boos at the launch of his new Freedom First PAC by introducing himself as “coming from a state that is the home of Humphrey and Mondale and Wellstone and now U.S. Senator Al Franken.”