“The first time I met him (Pawlenty) was at a News Tribune editorial board endorsement interview when he made his first bid for the governorship. Agree or disagree with him, we were struck by how articulate he was, and how he could smoothly discuss the issues and his goals with no sign of the nervousness most politicians display under those circumstances. So he’s smooth. And he’s smart. And he’s conservative — really conservative, a veteran of the ill-fated Jon Grunseth gubernatorial campaign in the 1990s. He took his early signing of a pledge to not raise taxes — not ever — way too seriously. He shouldn’t have signed it in the first place, not knowing what the state’s needs would be and because it forced him to raise many taxes anyway and calling them ‘fees.’ It’s duplicitous. He clearly has national ambitions, and he’d be an effective candidate for the Republicans, with some of the same campaigning talents that President Barack Obama has, along with a similar humble early background. The last time I spoke with him was a few weeks ago in the entry area of BlackWoods restaurant on London Road where he, his wife and daughter just showed up in casual attire and signed up for a table. Since Minnesota governors don’t go anywhere without security, I asked him where the highway patrol guy was. He pointed to the door.”
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