Pawlenty ‘unflappable’ when asked why he’s always flying off

Gov. Tim Pawlenty parried repeated questions from reporters Wednesday on his frequent out-of-state trips in light of dire warnings about Minnesota’s budget deficit. He was dubbed “unflappable” by Smart Politics (a blog that also concocted the sobriquet “The Unsinkable Michele Bachmann“). But T-Paw’s dodges, however artful, recall rationalizations by his predecessor, Jesse Ventura, who moonlighted as a pro-wrestling referee.

Call it a conspiracy theory, but both governors said their time spent on the job allowed them time to pursue other interests in their spare time.

Here’s a sample exchange from T-Paw’s testy Wednesday presser:

Reporter: Do you plan on slowing down or changing your travel schedule nationally during this crisis?

Pawlenty: “The measure isn’t that. It’s — does the work get done? And, again, given the number of hours that I put in, there is no work in my administration that’s left undone.”

In a 2002 article about Ventura, St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter Jim Ragsdale wrote:

He would divide his time like a man on a time clock — daytime hours on weekdays belonged to Minnesota; nights and weekends were “personal time” he could use to sell a book or shoot a cameo. … “I’m untraditional,” he said. “My guidelines will probably be, first of all, I’m not like any other governor. Maybe that allows me a little more leeway.” … Even Ventura’s divided schedule sends a message that his anti-government supporters love, [University of Virginia Prof. Larry] Sabato says. “What he’s really saying is, being governor isn’t all that tough.”