The keynote speech to the Republican National Committee was designed to energize a party hammered in recent elections and to introduce Pawlenty’s middle America, outside-the-Beltway persona to those who could help generate buzz about his prospects and open up campaign checkbooks.
And the response:
Pawlenty received mild applause from the crowd and a polite standing ovation afterward.
Ooh, mild applause. Sounds like T-Paw is generating a mild amount of buzz. If he’s lucky, his recent appearances will help him raise a mild amount of cash.
The trouble is, Pawlenty’s just not all that exciting. Given that he has largely the same positions as more exciting conservative leaders like Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, it’s hard to see how he’s going to attract the interest of Republican primary voters.
“Polite applause” Heh.
Currently, Pawlenty is running behind PALIN in (R) presidential preference polls. (only 7% of republicans think Palin should be president)
Tim Pawlenty is the “Safety” date to the big dance. If all the hot girls or the exciting girls or the rich girls turn you down then there is Timmy. He proved that by gracefully losing to a Snowbilly Grifter out of Alaska in the last go round. Loyal to a fault and not without his charms Timmy just doesn’t have what it takes to get the base going. Now all bets are off if the current crop of GOP contenders continue their endless efforts to screw themselves over with more Appalachian hiking trips to Argentina, quitting jobs when only half done and well Bobby Jindal is just Bobby Jindal, boy governor.
That is perhaps the most accurate analogy for Pawlenty’s career I have ever heard.
I disagree with one thing Jeff wrote, but actually agree with something that amuseinc.
I would not group T-Paw in there with Huck and Palin on ideology. For someone who is right of center, there is a notable difference. Palin and Huck are still pandering to the pro-life crowd. T-Paw isn’t there. True, he hasn’t shunned them. But any GOP candidate needs Christians’ support the same as a Democratic candidate needs the Labor Unions’ support.
But saying T-Paw being the “safe” pick for the dance is apt. The trouble is that he’ll be campaigning against Obama. If he was campaigning against Gore, or Kerry, then I’d say it is a fair game. But against Obama, he’ll look like Mondale vs. Reagan all over again. Accomplished public servant, solid on policy, but boring.
But Palin? C’mon. She’s done. She never should have been started. I would soooo much rather see Pawlenty in the tough interview with Gibson or Couric than Palin. When T-Paw is interviewed, I may lose attention on occasion, but at least I don’t cringe or get nervous that he/she is about to really mess up.
Don’t assume that Obama will look good in 3 years.
Short of a stroke, Obama will still be a talented politician gifted with both an intellect and an ability for public speaking that puts every present Republican contender in the dust. I’m looking forward to the next presidential cycle as your Southern Rump party gets more southern and more rump.
I guess we’ll wait and see. Besides, I’m looking toward a rebalancing of power first in 2010.
Republicans are odds-on to lose more seats in both the senate and house in 2010.
Ahahahaha. You MUST be a uber-smart conservative doing a parody of dip-shitism.
Unless the Republicans significantly update their platform, they will be seeing themselves on the other side of a generational realignment, similar to the Democrats in the 1980’s.
See the Pew Research article: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1245/gen-next-squeezed-recession-most-see-better-times-ahead
I would say that the Star Tribune’s assessment may be a little off. Sure it wasn’t hooting and hollering, but I’m not sure polite applause is apt either. I watched the speech on TV. It didn’t seem like he energized the base into a violent frenzy, but they seemed more energized than the quote makes it seem.
He’s aking a case, only because they haven’t GOT anyone more effective.
Standing next to Barney Fife, even Floyd the barber looks tough.
Heard an outtake from this on the radio:
Why does Tim Pawlenty sound like “Curly Joe?”
Floyd the Barber looks like a tough guy standing next to Barney Fife.
Pawlenty looks formidable because there’s no one else.
Here is the problem: The GOP have two people who can engage an audience, albeit in a different way, like Barack Obama. One is Sarah Palin, who engages with audiences because she is an energetic, passionate woman who is a normal person and not a stuffy career chick like Hillary. The other is Mike Huckabee, who engages audiences in more of a “nice Grandpa” way than in Obama’s high oratory way.
The problem is that both Palin and Huckabee represent the dying views of hte GOP.