Tampa, U.S.A. — Thank you. Thank you very much. Good evening everyone, and welcome to Barack Obama’s retirement party!

Four years ago, we came together for this convention back in my home state of Minnesota, and a lot’s happened since then.

We’ve had four years of Barack Obama in the White House.

Ah, the Obama White House, one bad decision follows another. Hard to say exactly just what his worst mistake has been. There’s so many to choose from: The stimulus. His energy policy. Obamacare. Taxes. Joe Biden.

I hear Joe’s particularly interested in tonight’s proceedings. He even thought about coming here toTampa. And he’s taking notes because when Paul Ryan speaks, Joe will finally get to hear what a real vice president sounds like!

But you know, President Obama isn’t as bad as people say, he’s actually worse.

The president takes more vacations than that guy on the Bizarre Foods show.

And I’ll give Barack Obama credit for creating jobs these last four years for golf caddies.

Actually, Barack Obama is the first president to create more excuses than jobs! In his view, it’s George’s fault. It’s the bank’s fault. It’s Europe’s fault. It’s the weather’s fault. It’s Congress’ fault. Mr. President, if you want to find fault, I suggest you look in the mirror!

I’ve come to realize that Barack Obama is the tattoo president. Like a big tattoo, it seemed cool when you were young.

But later on, that decision doesn’t look so good, and you wonder: what was I thinking?

But the worst part is you’re still going to have to explain it to your kids.

Next week, Barack Obama will plead with America to give his failed ideas another chance. He’s asking Americans to give him more time and more money.

Well sorry, Mr. President, but you’re out of time, and we’re out of money.

Barack Obama’s failed us. But look, it’s understandable. A lot of people fail at their first job.

Now, our opponents claim to be the party of the middle class. But Democrats don’t understand this fundamental point: it’s really hard for people to be part of the middle class if they don’t have a job!

I know a bit about these things. I grew up in a meatpacking town.

For much of his life, my dad was a truck driver. My mom was a homemaker. She died when I was 16, and my dad lost his job not long after that. And I was the only one of the five kids in our family who had a chance to go to college.

When I traveled the country these past few years, I met Americans from all different walks of life.

If you ask middle-class Americans about their hopes and dreams, they’ll share their heart, but also their concerns.

Can they pay the mortgage? Will they have enough money to buy groceries, or gas for the car? Will they be able to get their kids into college or pay the tuition?

But jobs don’t come from politicians. They come from entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators and risk-takers.

America’s entrepreneurs know taxes are too high, and regulations are too costly and complex. Obamacare frightens them. And they want more American energy.

And they’re collectively making one common plea. They’re saying: I want to grow my business and employ people, but they’re also saying this: Just get the government off my back!

We need to let them know help’s on the way, and help’s name is Mitt Romney.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have the best candidate. This isn’t his first job, or the first time he’s been a leader who has produced results.

He made a success of failing companies. He made a success of the Olympics. He even made government in Massachusetts more effective and efficient.

And now he’s ready to help get America back on track and Americans back to work. He has a plan to strengthen and grow America’s middle class with lower taxes; a government that works for the American people instead of dashing their hopes and dreams; lower energy prices; and greater access to a quality education for all.

There’s one other thing I want to leave you with tonight. It’s important for America to know that Mitt Romney is not only a great leader, he’s also a remarkable person. He’s smart, gracious and wise. And he has this infectious good cheer about him – something I appreciate and something America needs.

Mitt Romney never quits moving. When he sees a problem, he goes after it and finds the solution.

It’s that can-do spirit, combined with a lifetime of service and success that convinced me to support him. And it’s that can-do spirit that we need in the White House, leading America now.

As a former governor, I know that leadership takes optimism, but not blind optimism.

We need a leader who understands the depth of our challenges, but who also doesn’t shy away from them.

Mitt Romney knows what our problems are, and he has the tools, the experience, the energy and the right polices to fix them.

After four years of this president, we need Mitt Romney now, more than ever.

I’m proud to be supporting him for president of the United States, and I know you are too.

And with any luck, in a few months, Barack Obama will at last get some experience in the private sector.

Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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The Foreign Policy Initiative organized an event called “Peace Through Strength: Restoring American Leadership in the World.” Toonari Post representatives Kiara Ashanti and I had the opportunity to assist as media during our time at the Republican National Convention.

Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota and candidate for president in the Republican primaries, was the main speaker. William Kristol, one the main political analysts in the nation, was the moderator.

Pawlenty said that there is a big difference in the Romney and Obama plan to ensure national security, although some liberal media have said they are basically the same. The former governor said Romney had plans to restore the United States’ global leadership role, which has been lost under Obama´s administration.

Pawlenty said that although many think Ryan and Romney have no experience in national security and foreign policy issues, they would definitely choose the best people to get the job done. Pawlenty reminded the audience that before Reagan became president, many doubted his credentials, but Reagan became one the best leaders the country has ever had.

Romney is a man who has studied history and knows how the world is, Pawlenty explained, so he has no doubt that if the United States is threatened Romney would not only have a philosophical reaction, he would have a concrete reaction to stop the threat.

The main speaker also criticized President Obama for taking money out of the Defense budget. He said that if Romney wins, rather than taking money out of the Defense budget, the budget would be increased, to increase the size of the Air Force and the Navy.

If Romney wins, his first priorities would be Iran, Syria and North Korea. Pawlenty explained that Iran has threatened a United States ally, Israel, and that the government should not let that happen. He also warned that if Iran has a nuclear weapon, the United States would respond.

According to Pawlenty, it does not matter if their national security plans are popular around the world, what really matters is if the country is safe, and under Mitt Romney the country would be safe.

Pawlenty also said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a tyrant that is murdering his own people and that he should be removed from office. He criticized that President Obama has not supported the Syrian rebels who are trying to take Assad out of power. He said the Russians, who, along with China, vetoed a UN intervention in Syria, are supporting Assad´s army with guns and training, and the United States is not doing that for the rebels.

Pawlenty assured that under Mitt Romney, the United States would definitely support its allies in need and would assume the role as the leader of the free world.

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Manassas, U.S.A — Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, issued the following statement regarding possible Republican vice presidential candidates:

“There is growing unease among conservatives that the ‘short list’ of vice presidential candidates Mitt Romney has under consideration has too many establishment-type Republicans and few, if any, principled small government constitutional conservatives.

“Conservatives want Governor Romney to win, but there are millions of independent and right-of-center voters who are disillusioned with business-as-usual in Washington.  To attract their votes, Romney needs a running mate who is a small government constitutional conservative, not an establishment insider.

“As the names of establishment Republican personalities like Ohio Senator Rob Portman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Congressman Paul Ryan, or ‘outside the box’ choices like General David Petraeus (whose political views are largely unknown) have surfaced, the names of small government constitutional conservatives, such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have faded into the background.”

Viguerie offered concise critiques of the conservative bona fides of Pawlenty, Portman, Rice, Christie, Ryan, and Petraeus in recent articles on ConservativeHQ.com.

Tim Pawlenty: Prairie State Michael Bloomberg. “Far from being a conservative, when it comes to the nanny state versus individual liberty, Tim Pawlenty is more of a Prairie State Michael Bloomberg than a Reagan Republican.”

Has Romney Already Chosen Portman for VP? “He [Portman] may be unknown to many Republicans across the country, but in Washington–where he worked in both Bush administrations–he is the ultimate insider. He’s also the ultimate Bush Republican.”

Rice for VP a Slap in the Face to Conservatives: “Given her association with some of the worst neo-con inspired policies of the Bush era, putting Condoleezza Rice at the top of the VP short list is an insult to the conservatives, Tea Partiers, and independents who are looking for a break with the old establishment Republican Washington that Rice represents.”

Chris Christie: He’s a Brawler; But He is No Conservative “This cycle it is more important than ever that we make sure Republicans nominate a reliable conservative, not just another business-as-usual Republican politician. Chris Christie may be a brawler, but there is no record showing he can be relied upon to put his formidable talents behind many key elements of the conservative agenda.”

Paul Ryan for Vice President? Not So Fast. “Many in the conservative movement admire Ryan’s gumption in proposing a plan to return the federal government to fiscal sanity. The problem is the Ryan plan uses the Washington, DC version of sanity.”

General David Petraeus for VP — Patriot Yes, Conservative? “General Petraeus is a much-admired man who has ably, and sometimes brilliantly, served our country in the best tradition of the American armed forces. However, if Governor Romney is seriously considering David Petraeus for Vice President, he cannot and must not be given a pass on a thorough examination of Petraeus’ commitment to the small government constitutional conservative agenda.”

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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It has already begun. The presidential election is over a year away, but former candidates are beginning to endorse their peers. Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race last month, has placed his support behind Mitt Romney in an email to supporters on Monday.

“President Obama has failed to meet America’s economic challenges. … Fortunately, America may get a second chance: Mitt Romney is running for president, and I am proud to endorse him,” said Pawlenty in an email message sent out by the Romney campaign.

“[Romney] believes in the bedrock conservative ideals of limited government and free enterprise,” he continued. “He will stand up for America’s allies when they are threatened, with fortitude. And he will face down our adversaries. He is a formidable person, and he will certainly be a formidable president. Our allies can count on it, and our enemies should expect it.”

“He’s formulated an economic plan-a set of alternatives to the government-oriented programs that Barack Obama has put in place-that is unparalleled in the history of American electoral campaigns. By pressing for fundamental change in the way that Washington taxes and spends, issues regulations, uses energy, interacts with our major trading partners, and deals with our labor force, he fully envisions a way to place America back on the path toward rapid economic growth and full employment.”

Pawlenty also appeared on Fox News on Monday morning. He stated that Romney has significant experience in the private sector, which has influenced his decision to support the former Massachusetts governor. He also criticized Texas governor Rick Perry, specifically Perry’s reference to social security as a “ponzi scheme.”

“Governor Romney wants to fix Social Security — he doesn’t want to abolish it or end it,” Pawlenty said. “He doesn’t believe it should be thrown out — he thinks it should be reformed and fixed.” Responding to questions about his previous criticism of Romney’s health-care program, Pawlenty said he talked to Romney about his concerns and came away reassured.

“Mitt Romney is 100 percent dedicated and committed to repealing Obamacare,” Pawlenty said, citing Romney’s pledge to grant the states waivers from the federal law. Pawlenty will be a national co-chair of Romney’s campaign. He told Fox News that he had no vice presidential aspirations.

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After a rough showing during the Ames Straw Poll, Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, announced on Sunday that he was dropping out of the presidential race. Before his campaign even began, it has come to a premature end after his third place finish in the poll, behind state rival Michele Bachmann and small government favorite Ron Paul.

“I wish it would have been different. But obviously the pathway forward for me doesn’t really exist so we are going to end the campaign,” Pawlenty said on ABC’s “This Week” from Iowa shortly after disclosing his plans in a private conference call with supporters.

Pawlenty senior adviser Phil Musser told media that Pawlenty “just wasn’t willing to risk debt to soldier on — part of why he would have been a good president.”

Pawlenty’s campaign struggled to stand out among a crowded field of GOP candidates. Iowa was a necessary state for Pawlenty to win to even compete for the nomination. “What I brought forward, I thought, was a rational, established, credible, strong record of results, based on experience governing – a two-term governor of a blue state. But I think the audience, so to speak, was looking for something different,” he said.

Pawlenty has already struggled against Bachmann and with Texas governor Rick Perry entering the fray, Pawlenty would have had more difficulty gaining momentum. “I thought I would have made a great president,” Pawlenty said. “I do believe we’re going to have a very good candidate who is going to beat Barack Obama.”

He didn’t immediately suggest who that would be. Bachmann was quick to offer praise to Pawlenty.  ”I wish him well,” Bachmann said. “He brought a really important voice into the race and I am grateful that he was in. He was really a very good competitor.”

Pawlenty said his message “didn’t get the kind of traction or lift that we needed and hoped for coming into the and out of the Ames straw poll. We needed to get some lift to continue on and to have a pathway forward. That didn’t happen.”

Even after the poll though, Pawlenty suggested that he would continue in the race, calling the test vote “an important first step on the road to the Republican nomination and, ultimately, the White House.

“This is a long process to restore America – we are just beginning, and I’m eager for the campaign.”

He conceded though, “We have a lot more work to do.”

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Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota, was victorious over the weekend in Iowa. Winning the coveted Ames straw poll by nearly 5,000 votes, Bachmann immediately went on the defensive as attacks came from all sides of the party. Meanwhile, Bachmann’s main rival-Rick Perry- officially announced his presidential bid. Texas congressman Ron Paul took second place in the poll.

Former George W. Bush advisor Matt Dowd said the results show that the field is wide open in Iowa and elsewhere, especially since Ron Paul — “a pro-drug, apologize-to-Iran guy who could never win the nomination” — finished such a strong second.

“Nobody is in that strong a position, and Paul can’t win. So people are going to have hungry ears to listen to Perry,” said Dowd, who was Bush’s pollster and a top advisor in the 2000 and 2004 campaigns.

Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, was deemed the biggest loser of the day. Pawlenty only garnered 2,293 votes compared to Bachmann’s 9,000 votes.  ”Pawlenty’s going to have a very hard time next week justifying to his contributors how he can carry on,” said Scott Reed, a long time Republican strategist.

In a statement, Pawlenty said that his campaign had “made progress in moving from the back of the pack into a competitive position for the caucuses, but we have a lot more work to do.” He also said he was “just beginning and I’m looking forward to a great campaign.”

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) got 1,657 votes, former Godfathers Pizza CEO Herman Cain got 1,456 votes, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) got 385 votes, former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman got 69 votes and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) got 35 votes.

Bachmann defended her apparent contradiction of government money on Sunday.  Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Bachmann stated that when she accepted funds from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus bill that was not in conflict with her vocal criticism of the legislation.

Bachmann repeatedly sought stimulus funds from federal agencies, claiming that the funds would create jobs and improve the economy. However, in public, Bachmann decried the stimulus calling it an act of “overspending” and “fantasy economic” that could hurt jobs. When asked by Fox News’ Chris Wallace about this discrepancy, Bachmann claimed there was no conflict.

“I voted against the stimulus and I was very public against the stimulus. After the stimulus was passed and the money was there, why should my constituents or anyone else be disadvantaged?” Bachmann said.

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The Republican presidential debate on Thursday involved lively exchanges moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace. The most contentious debates were between Rep. Michele Bachmann from Minnesota and Minnesota former governor Tim Pawlenty.

Pawlenty has criticized Bachmann for weeks stating that Bachmann lacks executive experience that he has. During the debate, Pawlenty stated that the congresswoman has “done wonderful things in her life, absolutely wonderful things, but it’s an indisputable fact that in Congress her record of accomplishments and results is nonexistent. That’s not going to be good enough.”

Bachmann, not one to shy away from confrontation, blasted Pawlenty’s record as governor. “Governor, when you were governor in Minnesota, you implemented cap and trade in our state, and you praised the unconstitutional individual mandate, and you called for requiring all people in our state to purchase health insurance,” she said.

The two continued to debate and Bachmann praised her own record of fighting Democratic proposals, such as health care. But Pawlenty pointed out that she did not stop the health care bill, increases in spending or the 2008 bailout of Wall Street banks. “She said she’s got a titanium spine. It’s not your spine we’re worried about, it’s your record of results,” Pawlenty said. “If that’s your view of effective results and leadership, then please stop because you’re killing us.”

Minutes later, the two lawmakers argued again over a cigarette tax that both appeared to agree with. Bachmann, who voted for the tax, stated she only voted for it because it was tied to an anti-abortion measure. Pawlenty called her arguments “illogical.” Most observers and pundits declared Bachmann the winner in the debate. Kent Sorensen, a Republican state legislator who is supporting Bachmann, certainly felt that way.”She exposed [Pawlenty] for the phony that he is,” Sorensen said. “He came out with the first punch and she came back with a roundhouse.”

Mitt Romney appeared to skate through the debate unscathed, mainly because other participants were too busy arguing with one another. It was Jon Huntsman first debate but he did little to stand out. An interesting portion of the debate came as Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, and Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, discussed Iran. Paul said he did not have a problem with Iran trying to obtain nuclear weapons.”Why wouldn’t it be natural that they might want a weapon … Why should we write people off?” he asked. “What’s so terribly bad about this?”

“Iran is not Iceland, Ron. Iran is a country that has been at war with us since 1979,” Santorum replied. Paul stated that the U.S. has intervened in Iran since the CIA was involved in the 1953 coup of Iran’s democratically elected prime minister.”We just plain don’t mind our own business … that’s the problem,” Paul said.

Paul became more agitated as he pointed out the “trillions of dollars” being spent on foreign wars to a crowd of cheering supporters.

NewtGingrich, the former House Speaker from Georgia, complained that the questions about his staff shake-up earlier in the year were “Mickey Mouse games.” “I took seriously [fellow host] Bret [Baier]‘s injunction to put aside the talking points. I wish you would put aside the gotcha questions,” he said. Gingrich then went on to compare himself twice to Ronald Reagan, who had staff departures during his run for the White House in 1980.

Wallace didn’t take it lightly. “If you think questions about your record are Mickey Mouse, I’m sorry,” he said, with disdain. “I think those are questions people want to hear answers to.”

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Republican presidential hopefuls are having a difficult time with the gay marriage issue. It seems like a relatively simple issue, but in the GOP world, it is quite convoluted.

Not wanting to upset their tea party and religious base, many candidates shun the idea of gay marriage. However, as public attitudes are changing, some GOP candidates are left scrambling.

“They see the polling – more and more Republicans are supporting gay marriage,” said David Welch, a former research director for the Republican National Committee. “It puts them in an awkward position with the younger members of the party and also with independents whose votes you need to win.”

Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights, said the political climate has changed rapidly and dramatically as leading Democrats celebrate the advent of gay marriage in New York and the imminent end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military under President Barack Obama.

“It’s now advantageous for Democrats to support gay rights, and a net negative for Republicans to oppose them,” Socarides said. “It’s become extremely complicated for many of the Republican candidates who are used to using anti-gay rhetoric as a way to gin up their base.”

In early primary state New Hampshire, gay marriage is legal. According to conservative activists in the state, none of the major GOP presidential candidates has yet taken a public position on the ongoing effort by some Republican legislators to repeal the state law legalizing same-sex marriage.

In Iowa, two presidential hopefuls-Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum-both signed a pledge condemning same sex marriage among other things. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty were among those refusing to sign the pledge, but both issued statements stressing that they favored limiting marriage to one-man, one-woman unions.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has stated he supports the each state’s right to legalize gay marriage. “That’s New York, and that’s their business, and that’s fine with me,” said Perry. However, some of his supporters were upset by Perry’s comments and he quickly tried to assuage those fears.

“I probably needed to add a few words after that `It’s fine with me,’” Perry said. “Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me. My stance hasn’t changed. I believe marriage is a union between one man and one woman.”

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Since early this week, the public and news media has become increasingly interested in Rep. Michele Bachmann and her migraine problem. Some have questioned whether she is healthy enough for the presidency. Others have suggested she is some sort of pill popper. And this was all from the GOP side.

In an attempt to deflect the attention, Bachmann released a letter from Congress’ physician attesting to her health.  Dr. Brian P. Monohan wrote in a letter provided to the press by Bachmann’s campaign that the congresswoman and presidential candidate has had “an extensive evaluation by both my office and by a board certified consulting neurologist.” The evaluations, Monahan wrote, have included “detailed labwork and brain scans all of which were normal.”

“Your migraines occur infrequently and have known trigger factors of which you are aware and know how to avoid,” the letter continued. Monohan wrote that Bachmann can “control [the headaches] well” with sumatriptan and odansetron and added that “it has not been necessary for [Bachmann] to take daily scheduled medications to manage this condition.”

Prior to the release of the letter, former Bush White House adviser Karl Rove said that the Bachmann campaign should release her medical records in order to avoid the scandal from growing. “It’s going to be important for her to get her doctors out there, quickly, to provide the medical records and to provide the reassurance that people are going to want to have,” Rove said.

Some Republican candidates have used the situation to take some shots at Bachmann. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, another 2012 hopeful, was asked questions about Bachmann’s health for higher office.”I don’t know enough about her particular medical situation to comment. I just don’t have enough facts on me.

I certainly would defer to the judgment of the medical professionals, but setting that aside all of the candidates, I think, are going to have to be able to demonstrate they can do all of the job all of the time,” Pawlenty said.

“If you’re going to be president of the United States you’ve got to be able to do the job every day, all the time. There’s no real time off in that job,” he said.

Other presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul expressed views that migraines should not disqualify Bachmann for the presidency.

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It is weird political time that we live in where potential candidates can participate in a debate even though they have not announced their candidacy. Participants in debates answer questions about presidential policy so it is odd to have politicians have well thought out plans in policy before they have even “decided” if they want to run. Of course, that is the way debates are supposed to go. Instead, it is all about attacking the current administration, bragging about how many kids you have (really, no one cares), and not offering any solutions to the problems of the country.

Rep. Michele Bachmann from Minnesota seemed like a person with borderline personality disorder, trying to steal the spotlight every chance she got. Right from the beginning of the debate when she “announced” her candidacy and told stories of 23 foster children (mentioning them three times), Bachmann was clearly attention-seeking. And although I saw through her fake charisma, I fear many people may like her and not listen to her bobble head empty policies.

The debate, held in New Hampshire, was hosted by CNN’s John King. CNN further proves that they are no longer a serious network with some really stupid pointless debate questions. “Coke or Pepsi?” Really, for the possible next leader of our country?? And the dumb politicians cannot even answer these types of questions. When Bachmann was asked “Elvis or Johnny Cash,” she replied “Both.” Rick Santorum answered “Neither” when asked if he preferred Leno or Conan.  Really, these are simple questions and if you can follow these instructions, how the hell are you going to run a country?

Bachmann emerged as the scary candidate. She views the world in very black and white terms. She is so conservative that George W.  Bush looks like a pinko communist in comparison.  Mitt Romney, the supposed frontrunner, was boring and bland. Romney announced during the debate that he wants to bring the troops home and that added lots of conditions on that plan. “It’s time for us to bring our troops home. As soon as we possibly can, consistent with the, uh … the word that comes from our generals that we can hand the country over to the Taliban military in a way that they are able to defend themselves … excuse me, it should be the Afghan military to defend themselves from the Taliban.” Wow, way to take a stance dude.

The other candidates were uninteresting and boring. Herman Cain is crazy, but we already knew that. Tim Pawlenty is …..Oh wait, I fell asleep. And that is really about it. I don’t even remember any one else that was there.

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Another Republican candidate has officially stepped into the ring.  Former Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty is expected to announce his candidacy on Monday in Iowa according to the Associated Press.  The announcement or the location of the announcement should come as no surprise to anyone.  The first state of the primary season, Iowa is a crucial win for Republican candidates.

Advisers admit that Pawlenty must win or at least have a strong showing in Iowa to have any chance at becoming the Republican candidate that will challenge President Barack Obama next November.  After the announcement on Monday, Pawlenty is expected to head to Florida, New Hampshire, New York and Washington, D.C.

Pawlenty has been long expected to enter the race.  He has been working in some form on his campaign since he was passed over for the 2008 vice presidential nominee by John McCain.  Pawlenty has been attempting to increase his national profile, hired a staff, traveled the country, and started to fundraise.  He resigned as governor in January and set up an exploratory committee in March.

Pawlenty has struggled to attract much attention or increase his standings in the polls.  Republican voters seem to gravitate toward big names such as Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee, who both since have stated they will not run.

Even though the Republican field is still wide open, Pawlenty may have some difficulty.   He is super boring and nearly unrecognizable to casual voters.  He will be running against some much more well known candidates such as Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.  And that is against the known candidates.  Include Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann and Pawlenty is even in more trouble.  Pawlenty may be wasting his money for this bid.  Or maybe he is secretly hoping for a vice president nomination.  Either way, he doesn’t have a chance.

Not everyone is counting out Pawlenty though.  He does have a fan base, especially in his home state of Minnesota.

“He is doing the soft sell and the soft sell works in the long run,” said Andy Brehm, a Republican strategist in Minnesota. “This is an entirely self-made guy. I don’t think you could ask for a better spokesman for the free market ideas. He’s worked himself up really from nothing.”

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As of now, no major candidate has publicly decided to challenge Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.  However, there is buzz surrounding numerous GOP hard hitters, suggesting that they may try to capture the GOP nomination in 2012.  There are so many possibilities, that this has turned into a series of articles.  In part one, we discussed Palin, Bachmann, Huckabee, and Gingrich.  In the second part, we focused on Gov. Haley Barbour, Gov. Mitch Daniels, and Jon Huntsman.  In part three, there are even more possibilities.

Would it be a real list without mentioning Mitt Romney?  The former Governor of Massachusetts may be the front runner in the list of potential candidates.  He is part of the establishment, sure, but many Republican voters are still fans.  He has a better track record, keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t embarrass himself the way most of the other likely GOP contenders do.  But, Romney has one large problem.  The Commonwealth Care reform that gave the state of Massachusetts health care for practically all is very similar to the Affordable Care Act that Republicans hate.   That will pose the biggest hurdle for Romney.  Other problems could be that he is too “elite,” he is from New England, and he is Mormon—all things that the Republican base doesn’t really like.

Also, the list must include Donald Trump.  That is right, The Donald is pretending he might run.  Trump recently spoke at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference suggesting that if he ran and won, “America would be respected again.”  Trump, like so many others in this wide open field, says he will make his decision in June. In a March WSJ/NBC poll, Trump had “an approval rating higher than better-known political quantities Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty.”  That makes two reality stars possible GOP contenders.

Speaking of Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota is also on the long list of possible presidential GOP nominations.  Pawlenty, like the others, has given no indication either way whether he will run or not, but he may be closer than most.  Just this week, he announced his intention to form an exploratory committee.  His website also has Pawlenty for 2012 all over it. He did not seek a third term for governor of Minnesota, leading many to speculate that he will mount a presidential bid.  In January 2011, Pawlenty told the College Republicans group at The George Washington University “If I decide to run it would be for president, not vice president.”  Pawlenty has been making some trips to Iowa, also leading more to believe he will likely run for president.  Pawlenty, like Romney, is good at not making headlines.  The biggest problem with Pawlenty is that he is boring.  No one is excited about him.  The party may settle for him, but no one is enthusiastic about his candidacy.  That doesn’t count him out though.  No one was very excited about McCain either.

There are still even more possible candidates.  Check out part four in this series for other primary potentials.

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