Politics 2012: Nice Guys Finish Third

Image via WikipediaFormer Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty had his presidential dreams crushed Saturday, finishing third in Iowa's Republican straw poll behind another Minnesotan, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.  The next day Pawlenty announced on TV that he's leaving the race.

In his final years as Governor, nearly everything that Pawlenty did--"unallotted" spending bills, cutting social programs, leaving behind a state budget deficit of billions--was geared toward raising his profile in the Republican ranks while lowering his popularity among Minnesotans.

So where did that get Pawlenty?  He ran as a moderate in an increasingly conservative and Tea Party-dominated GOP.  He criticized former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's health care plan as "Obamneycare" for being too similar to the President's, only to clam up when the two met in a televised debate in New Hampshire.  At a more recent debate in Iowa, Pawlenty and Bachmann stole the show, tossing brickbats at each other's records while besmirching their "Minnesota Nice" image.

It didn't help that Pawlenty was pretty much unknown outside his home state, and that he's bland as vanilla.  You could say his candidacy was doomed the moment Bachmann entered the race, but that's too easy.  It began much earlier, when Pawlenty announced he was running.

Don't think for a moment that this is the last we've heard from Tim Pawlenty.  GOP bigwigs want him to run for the U.S. Senate in either 2012 or '14.  In 2012, his opponent would be Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar.  Having lost the 2008 vice-presidential slot to Sarah Palin, and being outshone by Bachmann, does Pawlenty even want to take his chances against another woman?

A better bet for Pawlenty would be taking on Democrat Al Franken in the 2014 Senate race.  Conservatives have had Franken targeted since Day One, and with the right candidate could defeat him.  Pawlenty could be that person.

Well, that's one embarassing Minnesota politician off the campaign trail and one to go.  As long as Bachmann says and does stupid things like confusing the date of Elvis Presley's death with his birthday, her fellow Minnesotans (and some Iowans) will continue to cover their eyes and ears.