T-Paw Running For President

Tim Pawlenty announces candidacy for President

With Herman Cain joining the ranks of official Republican Presidential candidates yesterday, it should be considered unsurprising former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty followed suit today.

Pawlenty has adopted for himself the role of the "truth" candidate; the kind of straight-talking candidate previously seen in John McCain.

To date, howwever, Pawlenty has offered the same platitudes voters around the world have already gotten used to.

"In my campaign, I'm going to take a different approach. I am going to tell you the truth. The truth is Washington DC's broken," Pawlenty said. "It's time for new leadership. It's time for a new approach. And, it's time for America's president - and anyone who wants to be president - to look you in the eye and tell you the truth."

Americans have heard this before.

"No president deserves to win an election by dividing the American people - picking winners and losers, protecting his own party's spending and cutting only the other guys'; pitting classes, and ethnicities, and generations against each other," Pawlenty continued. "The truth is, we're all in this together. So we need to work to get out of this mess together."

Americans have heard this, too.

But if Pawlenty can deliver the kind of campaign he's promising, he will benefit from it, for an important reason: everyone knows these things are true.

Pawlenty has promised a campaign that will leave no sacred cow unassailed.

"The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to be phased out. We need to do it gradually. We need to do it fairly. But we need to do it," Pawlenty explained. "Conventional wisdom says you can't talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street. But someone has to say it."

Pawlenty has made himself out to be that someone. If he delivers in the midst of a primary election, with all the pressures to please the electorate and not offend any of America's various constituencies will need to be seen.

But one thing is fairly certain: Tim Pawlenty's flair for dramatic and inspiring campaign ads already has the Democrats terrified of him.

That alone is good reason for him to be running for President.