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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:

Comments (3)

This seems to be typical Republican thinking.
We can have a surge w/o sending soldiers,
We can fight the war on terror w/o taxes.
We can do things w/o forethought & claim only those that work out.

Posted by Miriam | August 17, 2008 11:51 PM

I thought Bayh's comments were fine; I thought Pawlenty's were hypocritical, duplicious and mendacious.

Pawlenty complained of mischaracterization, regarding "support" skeptical" and opposed, yet had this to say at the 8:04 mark:

***
"And again, General David Petraeus said summarily and arbitrarily taking our troops out of there as Senator Obama has proposed is not in the best interests of the United States, could potentially be destabilizing and put at risk all of the great work and valor and sacrifice and blood and treasure our country has put into that country."
***

I cannot find any citations where General Petraeus said what Pawlenty claims; and Pawlenty is clearly mischaracterizing Obama's proposals.

Posted by TwoPuttTommy | August 18, 2008 8:58 AM

Two days after he was "disappointed" he became merely "skeptical." Do you suppose the Governor got a good talking to about what he was supposed to be thinking?

Posted by Randy | August 18, 2008 5:23 PM

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