Tim Pawlenty has a message for Iowa Republicans: Seriously, do not nominate a bad candidate, or you could blow the whole election.
“Barack Obama has no clue. His numbers nationally for reelection aren’t very good,” Pawlenty told an audience in Iowa on Tuesday, the Des Moines Register reports. “His numbers in the key states that are actually going to decide the election are awful.”
However, Pawlenty continued: “If you serve up to the country a candidate who is not ready to be president, who can’t really run the country…Iowa will do a disservice to the process.”
Pawlenty did not directly mention another candidate as being the wrong one who would not be ready to be president. However, it should be noted that Pawlenty has recently attacked his fellow Minnesotan rival, Rep. Michele Bachmann, saying that she has a “nonexistent” record of accomplishments, and that she does not have the experience to be president.
Recent polls have widely shown Bachmann leading in the Iowa caucuses, in a close race with Mitt Romney, with each of them usually in the 20’s. Those polls have also had Pawlenty further back in the field, in single digits.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.