I know you know that you've already heard that Tim Pawlenty aka T-Paw is a candidate for President (of the United States of America). And you might even be able to pick him out of this lineup:
Apparently Pawlenty's video guys are into special effects too.
But odds are you've already forgotten he's running, at least on an emotional level, because he's not exactly the most memorable guy on earth. In fact, the most exciting thing about his campaign might be his oddball campaign videos which are quickly becoming cult classics. Last night he issued another one as his
official reminder to America that he's a candidate:
Most pundits will politely call them "slickly produced" but I think a more fair description would be that they are unintentionally yet uproariously hilarious, and just a tad pretentious. Basically, videos like this are manna from heaven for political comedians
like Stephen Colbert.
Politically, the most notable thing about the video is probably that Pawlenty said his first "official" campaign event will be in Iowa. Given that he faces long odds in both New Hampshire and Nevada and given that Iowa is a neighboring state to Minnesota, Iowa is pretty much a must-win state for his campaign.
As Jake wrote yesterday, the biggest question Tim Pawlenty faces is whether he or Jon Huntsman will end up being the establishment alternative to Mitt Romney. If he doesn't win Iowa, it's hard how to see how he'll be the guy, so if I were either Romney or Huntsman, I'd be doing everything I could to boost Michele Bachmann in the state. And if I were a top Republican, I'd be doing everything I could to say that Iowa was irrelevant, because if Michele Bachmann wins Iowa and Republicans think that is an important win, you never know what hilarity might ensue.