VP or not VP

Gov. Tim Pawlenty isn’t the first to use the phrase “Freedom First,” the name of his new political action committee (PAC).

U.S. Rep. John Kline knows his buttons. As a Marine, he stayed at the side of Presidents Reagan and Carter, carrying the satchel known as the “nuclear football” that holds the how-to kit for pressing the most fearsome button of all. Now he’s once again the go-to guy, carrying the ball for Republicans who want [...]

The past week has seen a fresh round of media speculation about whether Gov. Tim Pawlenty will run for president in 2012. The consensus: a definite maybe. But nobody asked his mullet. 

The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election, veteran Washington Post reporters Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson’s chronicle of last year’s epic campaign, hits bookstores tomorrow. But the newspaper has been teasing it with excerpts.

The announcements by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty came 3,100 miles and 31 days apart. But observers in Alaska and Minnesota see close ties between the two Republican governors’ intentions to leave office.

Papa John Kolstad wants someone to challenge U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum in a primary. His beef? McCollum’s failure to sign on as a co-sponsor of legislation that would create a universal, single-payer health insurance system.

A 24-hour news cycle has now passed since Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced that his future plans don’t include running for re-election. And if he hoped to gain a bit of the national news media’s attention, he got it.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty was at odds with his own communications office on a couple points at his press conference yesterday — including the topic of his talk.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is no longer swimming at the deep end with the Republican Party’s top 10 ‘influencers,” says The Fix. But he had another visit from the person in the fish suit during his radio show today — a sure sign it’s time to declare a winner in last week’s caption contest.

Michael Steele, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee, says he preferred Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as the party’s nominee for vice president last year. He didn’t say who he likes for president in 2012, but Steele’s remarks, as well as Palin’s at an anti-abortion rights event last week [...]