Tpaw's bad week

Nov 5, 2009 — Washington Post

Chris Cillizza

Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, after making a series of smart strategic moves over the past few months in advance of an expected run for president in 2012, has struggled on the national stage in the past week.

First, Pawlenty waded into a special election in Upstate New York on behalf of Conservative party nominee Doug Hoffman -- a move that came directly on the heels of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to endorse Hoffman over state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R).

"We cannot send more politicians to Washington who wear the Republican jersey on the campaign trail, but then votes like Democrats in Congress on issues like card check and taxes," Pawlenty said in a statement announcing his decision.

Then, in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, Pawlenty seemed to make an unforced error by calling into question whether Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) truly belonged within the Republican party.

"If Olympia Snowe disagrees with us on one or two things there's room for her of course," said Pawlenty. "But if she disagrees on everything then that's a problem."

In retrospect, neither move was a smart one from a strategic point of view. Hoffman fell short in the special election and Pawlenty had to reach out to Snowe in the wake of his comments to make clear that his belief was that the party was a big tent rather than a small one.

Pawlenty detractors are sure to see these two incidents as evidence of a transparent attempt to tack to his ideological right in advance of a presidential primary process that is dominated by conservative activists.

Defenders of the governor insist that his motives had little to do with 2012. In the case of New York's 23rd, he felt compelled to get involved once he became aware of the selection process -- a group of 11 county chairs picked the nominee -- and Scozzafava's support for the Employee Free Choice Act while with Snowe it was less premeditated attempt to appease the right than simple mistake by a candidate somewhat new to the national stage.

And, they add, Pawlenty, as vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, deserves some credit for the victories in Virginia and New Jersey this week as well as the Minnesota kickoff of his Freedom First PAC last night.

Fair enough.

But, regardless of why Pawlenty did what he did, his actions over the last week reveal how difficult and fraught with peril the national political scene is for candidates who are new to it.

Running for president is not easy. Let's not forget that President Barack Obama was a unsteady and, at times, uninspiring, candidate on the stump and a long-winded debater when he entered the 2008 presidential races.

Pawlenty still has more than two years to grow into the role he is running for. And, now is the time to make mistakes -- when only a few super-nerdy political junkies (yours truly very much included) and a handful of party activists are paying close attention.

Still, Pawlenty's past week shows why candidates who have run before tend to do better the second time around -- particularly on the Republican side.