Polinaut: August 17, 2008 Archive

Pawlenty on Face the Nation

Posted at 11:12 AM on August 17, 2008 by Tom Scheck

The news of the show was that Pawlenty and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh look like twins when they sit next to each other. Pawlenty and Bayh also said there was "no news" when asked if they were asked to be the VP nominee or if they wanted to take their names out of consideration.

Governor Pawlenty focused on two key talking points during his appearance on Face the Nation-

1) "Senator McCain has said that we need to deal with this aggressively and one of the questions this crisis raises is "Who do you want sitting across the table from Vladimir Putin and people like him, John McCain or Senator Obama? I think the answer is Senator McCain and that's for obvious reasons."

2) When asked about the forum at Saddleback Church that featured John McCain and Barack Obama, Pawlenty said "McCain looked crisp while Obama looked wandering."

Senator Evan Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana, also stuck to a few key talking points like this one:

"Whether to go into Iraq or not, Barack Obama was correct. How to get out of Iraq, the Iraqis embraced Barack Obama's position even George Bush is coming around. He was right about Afghanistan, John McCain is coming around on that."

Bayh also criticized Pawlenty for not initially supporting the surge in Iraq suggesting that even Pawlenty had questions about it. Pawlenty said he didn't support the surge because he felt it was too late.

Pawlenty co-chairs McCain's presidential committee and has campaigned for him across the nation.

Face the Nation should have the video up later today.

The Daily Digest: 8-17-08

Posted at 11:33 AM on August 17, 2008 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

Gov. Pawlenty's VP tryout leads the digest. Pawlenty was on Face the Nation (video up soon - I hope) this morning and said he had "no news to report" when asked if he was asked to be the VP nominee or whether he was taking his name out of consideration.

Pawlenty appeared alongside Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh. Pawlenty stuck to several talking points "Who do you want sitting across Putin?" and "McCain was crisp, Obama was wandering..." regarding the Saddleback Forum. Bayh shot back that McCain dropped the ball on seeing the Georgia crisis because he was too focused on Iraq. He also surprised Pawlenty by saying Pawlenty was initially against the surge. Pawlenty replied he was against the surge because he felt it was too late and should have occurred earlier.

The bottom line: Bayh and Pawlenty looked like twins and stuck to their talking points. You can read more about it here.

Former PA Gov. Tom Ridge said the GOP could accept a pro-choice VP. Ridge is pro-choice.

Democrats are bracing for Obama's pick.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden is headed to Georgia.

This Scottish newspaper said both candidates need running mates who can deliver votes.

2008 Race for President

The Star Tribune says the candidates are holding their hands out in the same zip codes.

Democrat Barack Obama raised $51 million in July.

Obama and Republican John McCain met in the Saddleback Forum. They differed on abortion and the U.S. Supreme Court. AP and Politico have stories.

2008 Race for Senate

Forum Communications says no debates are set yet.

The Pi Press says the Senate candidates are spending their money on mud.

AP says GOP Sen. Norm Coleman is holding his own in the Senate race. The story focuses on how the Democrats will pick up Senate seats.

AP picks up on the YouTube debate.

2008 Race for Congress

The Hill says the GOP efforts to call for more drilling equates to Groundhog Day. GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann is mentioned.

The 3rd District candidates head to GameFair. DFLer Ashwin Madia is also headed to the DNC.

Congress

DFL Rep. Collin Peterson talks about the Bovine TB management plan.

He also said implementing the Farm Bill is the next step.

2008 RNC

The RNC organizes a mass clean-up.

Forum Communications says convention delegates are happy despite the costs.

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Pawlenty and the surge

Posted at 10:37 PM on August 17, 2008 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)

Sen. Evan Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana, questioned Gov. Pawlenty's thoughts in the surge in Iraq. During their appearance on Face the Nation, Bayh said to Pawlenty:

"Tim, you opposed the surge... I read about it in your hometown newspaper."

Pawlenty interrupted Bayh saying it wasn't true. He later said Bayh was mischaracterizing his thoughts on the surge:

"I did not oppose the surge. I said I was skeptical of it because I thought it was too late. Like Senator McCain, I wanted it to start earlier."

That's true according to one of Pawlenty's hometown newspapers. Here's what The Star Tribune (no link available - retrieved via Nexis) wrote about Pawlenty on January 12th, 2007.

"I am skeptical about the surge because it's belated. I wish it would have happened a year ago, or two years ago or three years ago," he said at a Capitol news conference.

What makes this issue murky for Pawlenty is that he was balancing his thoughts on the surge with the thoughts that 2600 Minnesota National Guard members were going to see their tours of duty extended because of President Bush's decision. Here's a statement he released on the decision on January 10th, 2007.

"I am extremely disappointed and frustrated that the tour of duty for 2,600 Minnesota National Guard soldiers in Iraq apparently will be extended.

"This decision by federal officials is not consistent with the expectation or understanding provided to our soldiers. It's unfair to them and their families. It's extremely important that all of us continue to support members of our military and their families in every possible way."

In fact, here's what MPR reported on the day the surge was announced:

Both Gov. Pawlenty and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, two Republicans, say they're disappointed by the extension. In a conference call, Sen. Coleman also said he's not pleased with how the information was released by the Pentagon.

Question of the day: What are your thoughts on Bayh's comments?

UPDATE: You can watch the entire Face the Nation segment here:

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