Ryan Streeter
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Today's piece by Rich Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru on Pawlenty is the best T-Paw commentary I've read today. They lay out 5 questions for Pawlenty, which are all good in my view.
- Can he beat back Michele Bachmann? She may seem like a loon to pundits and the establishment, but her appeal to social cons and her ability to raise cash are significant.
- Can he find the right pitch in appealing to conservatives? "His speeches to conservatives have been notable for their groan-inducing panders." True....and a good point Pawlenty needs to take seriously.
- Will his history on cap-and-trade haunt him? It's his flip-flop, plain and simple. Will his "I was wrong" save him in the end?
- Can he appeal to blue-collar voters? This is his unique asset, so the question is whether he can he really capitalize on it.
- Will foreign policy matter? Pawlenty is the most hawkish of the front-runners, so the question here is where conservative voters are on foreign policy and whether Pawlenty's hawkishness will help him.
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