Normally I only post the “News You Missed” on Saturdays and I’m done until Monday, but since I’ve been going through my stack of magazines tonight (and I have a touch of insomnia), I wanted to post something that really got my attention.
Esquire in March 2010 (yes, I’m a month behind!) had an interview with Tim Pawlenty, the current Governor of Minnesota and potential Republican candidate for 2012.
Seriously? This man gets it.
In the interview, he says…
“…the Republicans had their shot not long ago to address the real needs and concerns of everyday Americans, and they blew it. I think that’s mitigated by the fact that we had a terrorist incident, there is a war, and there was a lot of proper focus on those issues, but over the time that they were there and had the leadership opportunity, they blew it. We got fired for a reason.”
Hmm. That’s a pretty accurate analysis there. He also says…
“…there are a bunch of people who went and voted for Barack Obama who are now concerned that he’s taken the country in a direction that they don’t like. And they’re not necessarily back to supporting Republicans, but they’re available for us to persuade, and that’s a huge opportunity. Our opportunities for 2010 are tremendous.”
…and my “eyebrows over the forehead” moment came when he said…
“Medicare was started a long time ago, and medicine had changed, having gone from clinical practices and hospitalizations to treating more and more conditions with prescription medicines. So it makes sense to extend Medicare benefits to prescription medicines.”
Ho-lee crap. That’s the only health care reform we need! Brilliant!
I have a feeling this man is going to pull an “Obama” on his political party. Right now everyone is focusing on Mitt Romney like the Democrats initially focused on Hillary for 2008. But Pawlenty is the man I would vote for in 2012, especially if Obama continues to bait-and-switch on promises he made during his campaign. (IE: Authorizing ongoing illegal spying on American citizens, continuing the war(s) overseas, not implementing transparency on all government matters, pushing through a mandatory healthcare reform plan where if you don’t accept it you will get fined and possibly put in prison, etc.)
The interview also goes over Pawlenty’s upbringing in a real working class family and also some of his other beliefs on the current state of the union.
You can read the full Esquire interview with Tim Pawlenty here and the “photo” filled version of the interview here.
