Tim Pawlenty | featured news

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has resigned as a national co-chairman of Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign to lobby for Wall Street. He has also ruled out a run for governor or Senate in Minnesota in 2014....

During a recent weekend in North Carolina, Tim Pawlenty did what he has been doing over the past year for Mitt Romney: He drove himself non-stop. In one town, he discussed the economy and jobs with a group of parents at an ice rink. Before the event ended, the former high school junior varsity hockey player had taken to the ice to give children a few skating tips. Soon, he was off again. He helped to open a Republican office in Raleigh, turning fiery, using the occasion to hammer President Obama and show off his combative skills: “I’m tired of hearing his teleprompter speeches and no results. . . . Those words, they don’t put gas in our cars, do they?”

...it’s worth emphasizing that one of Romney’s top advisers is promoting economic stimulus through a lower dollar. That could be good idea, as cheap dollars are generally helpful in economic slumps, but it’s an interesting position for a Republican candidate to embrace. Paul Ryan has declared, “There is nothing more insidious that a country can do to its citizens than debase its currency,” while Tim Pawlenty has said “When you devalue the dollar, you are devaluing the net value of this country.” This sort of rhetoric could make it difficult for Romney to follow this path if elected.

Mitt Romney has embraced Tim Pawlenty, seeking his advice about running against President Obama and dispatching him to Republican events on his behalf.

As a presidential hopeful, Tim Pawlenty won respect among GOP insiders, social conservatives and the tea party movement. Far from the first love of any faction, he quickly washed out as a candidate. Almost a year after he abandoned his White House bid, Pawlenty's reputation as being suitable but not a standout is actually fueling the speculation that the former Minnesota governor is a serious contender in Republican Mitt Romney's search for a running mate.

Leaks are springing. Trial balloons are floating. Egos are being stroked. Wanna-bes are auditioning. And, chances are, lies are being told... Why did Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire walk in a July Fourth parade with Romney? Why did Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota turn up in Ohio and Pennsylvania during President Barack Obama's Midwest bus trip? Why did Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio write a Cleveland newspaper column criticizing the president's policies just as Obama headed for the state?

After watching the ups and downs of the Republican presidential campaign from the sidelines since mid-August, Tim Pawlenty voiced second thoughts Monday about his decision to pull out of the race after a third place showing at the Ames straw poll.

Vanquished Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty endorsed contender Mitt Romney on Monday, calling the former Massachusetts governor the candidate who "possesses the unique qualifications to confront our severe economic predicament."

The former Minnesota governor finished a distant third in the GOP's Ames Straw Poll in Iowa.

After ignoring jibes from her homestate rival, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann hit back at Tim Pawlenty on Sunday, accusing him of aligning himself with President Obama.