Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) spoke to the Iowa Republican Party last night, and thanked God for his blessings in life.
"Thank you, Lord, for my red-hot, smokin' wife," said Pawlenty -- a quote from the movie Talladega Nights, a Will Ferrell comedy about an idiotic NASCAR driver.
"I think she appreciates that line. I talked to her about it and she's OK with it," Pawlenty later told a reporter. "She knows it's in fun. I mean it sincerely, I think she is hot."
Late Update: Here's the video:

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Moose49
November 9, 2009 10:06 AM
Not ready for prime time!
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chimpale
November 9, 2009 10:18 AM
It's gotta be tough for Timmy. All of his favorite musicians, bands, and entertainers are people who think his political views are a heap of crap.
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GTFOOH
November 9, 2009 10:21 AM
This may be the only guy with worse political radar than Mark Sanford.
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Walter Mitty
November 9, 2009 10:22 AM
He's that guy with zero charisma who tries desperately to fake that he has it. Either you got it or you don't Timmy, and you most certainly do not.
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Icon
November 9, 2009 11:05 AM in reply to Walter Mitty
Charisma can be learned. Timmy didnt do wel in skool, tho.
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brianm0122
November 9, 2009 10:22 AM
Wasn't the wife involved in some finacial hanky-panky? She "worked" for one of her husbands money-men, and took in a huge salary with little or no work? Or was that Coleman?
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Eric Jaffa
November 9, 2009 10:42 AM in reply to brianm0122
That scandal is about Norm Coleman and Laurie Coleman.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/1008/Ledger_details_payment_to_firm_employing_Laurie_Coleman.html
"A Texas businessman who claims he was forced to make $75,000 in secret payments to the wife of Minnesota Sen. Norman Coleman has produced documents showing cash transfers to an insurance firm that employs the senator's wife Laurie."
Senator's aren't required to say how many hours their spouses work or what their salaries for that work is.
The public still hasn't been told how many hours Laurie Coleman is in the office of Hays Companies, or how much they pay her.
We should expand disclosure laws for Senators to address this route for bribery.
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Carthage
November 9, 2009 10:37 AM
this after joking about her low sex drive last year?!?! Seriously, I'm not making this up -From the good old Jed report: As voters get to know Pawlenty, they might be interested to learn about a humiliating joke he told about his wife's lack of interest in having sex with him. Appearing on sports radio last May with his wife at his side, Pawlenty said that while she liked sports and fishing, she'd really be perfect "if I could only get her to have sex with me."
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Minne sconsin
November 9, 2009 11:51 AM in reply to Carthage
yeah, I remember this too.
But it might play well with your average GOP'er - "I wouldn't have had to get dressed up in diapers & get teh hooker (or tap my feet in the bathroom stall) if only my wife had been more interested in sex."
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Ducksworthy
November 9, 2009 4:21 PM in reply to Carthage
Anal sex. He keeps begging for anal. That's our boy Timmy. A real class act.
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temptxan
November 9, 2009 10:41 AM
And he loves him some baby Jesus too! Talladega Nights, high culture to the Republicans.
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Why oh why
November 9, 2009 10:52 AM
Tomorrow: 'Pawlenty Slams Liberal Bloggers for Attacking his Wife'.
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millebornes
November 9, 2009 10:59 AM
Pawlenty's comment is sort of creepy. His wife probably cut him off again.
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ru4862
November 9, 2009 11:06 AM
Seriously. Who gives a 'rats-ass' what Pawlenty says Obama or congressional democrats.He's governed Minnesota into the ground.
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debbiedoesnothing
November 9, 2009 11:12 AM
All I need to know was that McCain looked at Pawlenty and looked at Palin and decided to go with Palin. He's the not quite as smart, not quite as charismatic, not quite as cute version of Sarah.
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Gopherit
November 9, 2009 11:12 AM
Pawlenty sex scandal in 3.....2......
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jeffgee
November 9, 2009 12:33 PM in reply to Gopherit
And Sarah ain't that smart.
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mikedrevguy
November 9, 2009 11:19 AM
Very good, Mr. Pawlenty: pattern your professional speeches after the likes of an "idiotic NASCAR driver." playing to the lowest common denominator? yep.
and besides that - how bout the misogynistic nature of the comment - and publicly professing the best of the blessing God has to offer is found in one's wife's physical attributes? What's with that, Tim? You're blessed if you've got a hot wife? and NOT if God hasn't graced you with a physically hot wife?
Definitely playing to the locker-room bravado in that particular gathering of individuals. and the women in the room just smile and preen themselves?
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JZ
November 9, 2009 11:24 AM
Ha. I'm a fan of Talladega Nights. But I wonder how many in that audience have even heard of the movie, let alone seen it. Still, I would love to see him reenact the cougar in the car scene. Next is he going to quote Superbad?
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Indie Tarheel
November 9, 2009 11:38 AM
On the plus side, he hasn't been caught in a wide stance.
Yet.
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Richard L. Adlof
November 9, 2009 11:42 AM
SOME PEOPLE SAY that the entire Tim Pawlenty quote was actually:
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ttarleton
November 9, 2009 12:19 PM in reply to Richard L. Adlof
Love yer PoxNews style "some people say"!
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Henrietta
November 9, 2009 11:42 AM
Pawlenty has a lop-sided face. It's uncomfortable to look at him. I'm sorry to say it, but in the TV/internet age, he will never be President.
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teemunney
November 9, 2009 11:47 AM
If you rated her ass on a scale of 1 to 100, she'd EASILY be a 94.
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Mateo123
November 9, 2009 12:05 PM
what a loser.
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Joe Bob
November 9, 2009 12:10 PM
Living in Minnesota for 19 years, I've had an opportunity to watch Pawlenty in action for a long, long time. I have to say, he has reached new heights of un-likeability since he formed his Presidential campai...er...'politcal action' committee.
He has gotten as far as he has in Minnesota politics by playing the nice guy hockey player schtick for all it's worth. Pawlenty has the mean streak and general douchebag traits typical of GOP politicians. Yet, in a testament to his political acumen I can think of only a handful of times these traits have gotten him into the news in a bad way. Now though? Holy shit, he is letting it all hang out.
Meanwhile, he is coming across as completely AWOL on state politics, in addition to looking like a prick in the national media.
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Michael A
November 9, 2009 12:17 PM in reply to Joe Bob
Hmmm, sounds like a male version of Rambo of the Great Northwest. Definitely not ready for prime time.
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ttarleton
November 9, 2009 12:20 PM
Is this the best the GOP has to offer? Too bad for them!
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Minnesotan
November 9, 2009 12:37 PM
Dear Gov. Pawlenty,
Please keep running for President. With political skills that have only managed to get you 44% of the vote in statewide elections and a career marked by winning only because the Democratic-leaning Independent Party ran candidates that split the opposition, you certainly have proven yourself to be qualified to be President. And did I mention that when you came in as Governor your Republican Party had control of the State House and is now 2/3 Democrat because voters hated your policies so much? That's a great line to have on the resume! Plus, polls show you'd only lose to Obama by 12-13 points in your home state if you were the nominee! You've got so much going for you, we would love it if you kept running for President, all the way until you win the nomination. Maybe one day you can crack that 44% ceiling of yours.
Sincerely,
The 58% of Minnesotans that voted to kick you to the curb in 2002 and 2006.
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franzi
November 9, 2009 12:37 PM
"Thank you, Lord," for our piss-poor excuse for a Governor.
--Most Minnesotans
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elle a
November 9, 2009 12:58 PM
indeed.
i give him 3 weeks before he has to confess to some lurid sex scandal with a staffer or some argentinian or even hookers!
these republicans are so predictable
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Rich in NJ
November 9, 2009 12:58 PM
Too bad she isn't.
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Clavis
November 9, 2009 1:10 PM
I think this is a non-story. If the right-wing authoritarian hypertribalist sociopaths didn't constantly demagogue every issue and turn us into paranoid "gotcha"-watching political brawlers instead of collaborators (along with turing the media into a bunch of toothless gossip hounds), this kind of thing would be an opportunity for shared humor instead of a constant flub-scan to use for the next campaign cycle.
The Right-Wing Authoritarians have made us all more ruthless and less bipartisan -- more like them, in other words, out of survivalist necessity. Big surprise.
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Apphouse50
November 9, 2009 1:19 PM
Ick.
File under: T(oo) M(uch) I(nformation)
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lbarnett
November 9, 2009 1:20 PM
How long before he's found with his pants around his ankles and a weak excuse?
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voreason
November 9, 2009 1:23 PM
It's difficult to believe that a guy this revoltingly stupid is from Minnesota. How exactly did he get to be Governor?
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Apphouse50
November 9, 2009 1:26 PM in reply to voreason
Probably in exactly the same way that Mark Sanford became governor, and I agree with those who are predicting a red hot smokin' sex scandal any second now.
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Minnesotan
November 9, 2009 2:04 PM in reply to voreason
Pawlenty won by virtue of 3rd party candidates splitting the democratic vote in both 2002 and 2006, and in his re-election his DFL opponent called a reporter a whore a week before the vote which threw some last-minute support to the GOP. In essence, he's a lucky politician who has barely scraped by to get to where he is. If he were to face real, unified competition like Obama he'd be crushed. Public Policy Polling even showed him losing by 12 points to Obama in his home state so it's not like Minnesotans love the guy either.
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Dave Bowman
November 9, 2009 1:39 PM
Maybe Polenta's just affirming to the base that, unlike many prominent Republicans, he's a.) heterosexual and b.) not a serial adulterer.
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SBG
November 9, 2009 2:16 PM in reply to Dave Bowman
I think you've hit on it.
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kash79
November 9, 2009 1:54 PM
Its weird that he has suggested his wife and s-e-x together in one sentence too often for a public official. Does he have some fetish, like wanting other men to have desires for his wife?
These people are so repressed, there desperation at times is not containable.
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REFG
November 9, 2009 2:01 PM
Klass with a capital 'K'. He makes me ashamed to be a Minnesotan.
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vincent75
November 9, 2009 2:18 PM
she is pretty hot, especially as far as wives of politicians go, and talladega nights is a funny movie. i'm officially a pawlenty fan, at least for the next two hours.
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eztempo
November 9, 2009 2:35 PM
Why no picture of the missus? He brought up her looks, so why not let us judge for ourselves?
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Clavis
November 9, 2009 3:46 PM in reply to eztempo
Because only Republicans are allowed to ogle women. If a Democrat ogles a woman, it's either a sexist attack or a pre-adultery survey.
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baltimore
November 9, 2009 3:55 PM
yes, would someone please post her pic, so we can see if this fabulous gov's wife is really hot?
by the way, what about that falling bridge in minnesota; wasn't that the fault of this cost-cutting Gov. who did not maintain proper maintenance?
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REFG
November 9, 2009 5:43 PM in reply to baltimore
http://www.firstlady.state.mn.us/biography.html
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ericf
November 9, 2009 4:12 PM
I've been watching Pawlenty the whole time he's been governor, and while he can be funny once in a while, both his sense of humor and his arrogance towards disagreement make me wonder sometimes if we elected (by a plurality!) a 15-year-old. he is smarter however than most of the likely presidential candidates, be in no doubt about that.
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barrelhse
November 9, 2009 6:39 PM
But is she a hockey mom?
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