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Pawlenty’s Dilemma (II)

One of the things that continues to dog Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential bid, which he made official earlier today, is that he is not terribly successful at raising large amounts of money*. As Walter Shapiro explains in his article on Pawlenty, the later start to the presidential race this cycle compounds this problem, as Pawlenty has […]

One of the things that continues to dog Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential bid, which he made official earlier today, is that he is not terribly successful at raising large amounts of money*. As Walter Shapiro explains in his article on Pawlenty, the later start to the presidential race this cycle compounds this problem, as Pawlenty has less time for the necessary fundraising between now and the first contests early next year than candidates have had in recent cycles. This is another aspect of Pawlenty’s larger political dilemma.

Pawlenty’s candidacy doesn’t have any obvious rationale. In fact, the former Minnesota governor has trouble coming up with a reason why he is running at all. He doesn’t unnerve any major constituency in the party in the way that Huntsman does and Daniels did, but he isn’t that closely identified with any of them. He inspires neither intense loyalty nor especially strong dislike. Pawlenty is a compromise candidate in a party that is largely tired of having to settle for what they can get. The few things that distinguish him and make him somewhat interesting to some conservatives, such as his working-class background and conversion to evangelical Protestanism, are things that make him seem to be just enough of a working-class Huckabee-like populist to give some Republicans pause. This means that people with money are probably going to be disinclined to give some of that money to him just as they were unwilling to support Huckabee financially.
Meanwhile, Pawlenty’s actual record is so reliably and generically mainstream Republican that he appears merely adequate rather than exciting.

Unlike Huckabee, Pawlenty projects neither the charisma to sustain a campaign through free media appearances, nor does he have the natural opening to build networks of evangelical volunteers that the former pastor had. Imagine a campaign almost as cash-strapped as Huckabee’s, but with an unremarkable, plodding figure at the center of it instead of the bass guitar-playing evangelical comedian that Huckabee played throughout the 2007-08 contest. That will give you a good idea of the obstacles that await Pawlenty.

* I should note that Shapiro describes Pawlenty as an “insider” competing with Romney and Huntsman for establishment support. He really isn’t that much of an “insider,” but he seems to have decided on a campaign strategy that requires him to act like one.

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