My first event today at the Conservative Political Action Conference was a small meeting, along with a few bloggers, with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
"T-Paw" is considering a run for president. He comes across much warmer in person than he does on television--he's a charming guy. And man, can he ever think on his feet. He possesses an agile mind, and while he talked about an wide range of issues, he didn't stall once--he didn't dodge a single query.
Although he didn't phrase it as such, Pawlenty favors an all-of-the above approach to energy: "I'm in favor of ANWR drilling (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), I'm in favor of off-shore drilling." He favors alternate sources of power which of course brought the conversation into ethanol. Regarding his home state, "We shut off per gallon payments" for it. Pawlenty hasn't ealed the jar on ethanol, stating that producers "are going to have to get to another level technologically" to be a key source of energy. I asked the governor a follow up--"How did Minnesota farmers react to the shut off?" Pawlenty replied, "I did take some hits for that, initially." Ethanol will be a key issue in the run-up to next winter's Iowa Caucuses.
The turmoil in Egypt is a major discussion point in the bloggers' lounge, so naturally he was asked about the world's hottest news story. Admitting that hindsight is always 20-20 and that for the last 10-20 years there hasn't been an American policy towards Eypyt, Pawlenty didn't let the Obama administration off the hook. Regarding embattled leader Hosni Mubarak, he said the 82 year-old from "probably wasn't long for this world--either way. What is the plan?"
Sheesh, does anyone know?
"Maybe we should have been," while reminding us about the reliability of hindsight, "more aggressive in building some options."
As for his own foreign policy credentials, Pawlenty said they are quite strong although he has never held a federal office. He has traveled to Iraq five times, and has visited Afghanistan three times. He supports President Obama's Afghanistan surge, but was critical of its being announced along with a withdrawal date for our troops, which he called "extremely misguided and corrosive."
Pawlenty is an ardent opponent of ObamaCare, which he calls "the worst piece of legislation in the modern history of this country." He added that it does nothing to control costs while reminding us that Obama promised that his health care reform plan would do just that.
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