Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is a “natural antidote to Barack Obama” says the British newsmag The Economist. It’s a phrase also applied to Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign last year, and a possible clue to who wrote the unsigned story, datelined St. Paul. The last Minnesota pol to make such a splash across the pond was [...]

Gov. Pawlenty’s recent efforts to pander to the conservative GOP base is “Romneyesque,” observes veteran Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz. He warns that Pawlenty is in danger of losing his political compass as he attempts to position himself for a 2012 presidential bid.
In particular, Balz criticizes T-Paw for his awkward refusal to embrace Maine [...]

Tim Pawlenty didn’t bring it. Or he did, depending on who you ask. Here’s a roundup of reaction to the Minnesota governor’s speech to Republican activists in Iowa over the weekend.

The president didn’t authorize it, so by definition the protest Sunday of a speech by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might have been torture. More than 100 people picketed Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park Sunday (Norm Coleman was inside, Coleen Rowley outside). Signs like “Try Condi Rice for War Crimes” referenced [...]

The Republican Party isn’t big enough to “throw people overboard,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty told GOP activists in Des Moines on Saturday. Jason Hancock of the Minnesota Independent’s sister site, the Iowa Independent, was there.

Taking his opening shot in the state that hosts the nation’s earliest presidential caucus, Gov. Tim Pawlenty could hardly miss by appealing to “Heartland values” that Minnesota shares with neighboring Iowa. But other parts of his Saturday-night speech to Republicans in Des Moines seemed slightly off-target.

“As one of my good friends and supporters, I want you to know that today we filed the paperwork to create the R.T. Rybak for Governor Committee.” And so Minneapolis’ newly re-elected mayor at long last made his intentions clear — though murky syntax made it sound like he is one of his own good friends [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a proposal on Tuesday to amend the state’s constitution in order to keep a lid on government spending. His plan would cap the size of the state’s general fund budget at the amount of revenue received in the previous two year cycle. But according to figures compiled by the Senate Majority [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty believes Minnesota has a “binge” spending problem. In order to fix this addiction, he’s proposing a rather radical solution: an amendment to the state’s constitution that would strictly limit future expenditures. Democrats say it’s simply a stunt to bolster Pawlenty’s presidential ambitions.

Is the honeymoon over already for Gov. Tim Pawlenty? The Republican has largely been receiving accolades from the national media as he’s bolstered his profile with cable television appearances and laid the groundwork for a potential 2012 presidential bid. But influential Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza takes Pawlenty down a few pegs in a post [...]