PAWLENTY OUT – AT 10:20 A.M. ET:  Major news organizations are reporting that former Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota will quit the Republican race for president today.  Pawlenty's campaign failed to gain traction, and Pawlenty's finish in the Iowa straw poll yesterday was disappointing.

This is a function of personality, and it's sad.  Of all the GOP candidates, Pawlenty was one of the best qualified, and had been a successful governor, an executive.  But he has a personality that comes off as quiet on television, and he never developed the knack for standing out in debates.  His was the most criticized performance in the Iowa debate just this past week.  He spent an inordinate amount of time trying to destroy his fellow Minnesotan, Michele Bachmann, and it sometimes came off as unseemly.

In a way, it's unfair that a man like Pawlenty is out, but a bag of nuts like Ron Paul continues.  I think Pawlenty would probably have done well in a general election, where appeals to the great middle are required.  He just never fired up the base of the Republican Party.

August 14, 2011