Reply #20: Yes, he's not popular here. That's because we've had to deal with his policies.

[Occam Bandage]

The national race will not swing on whether Minnesotans like the results of Pawlenty's policies; it will swing on whether Americans like the results of Obama's policies. As for his "HUGE weaknesses?" We have a bridge collapse that was never seriously linked to Pawlenty (and the only attempt ended up embarrassing Oberstar). We have the typical Republican fuck-you to the poor, which isn't so much a "weakness" as it is a "decades-long policy platform." And we have a Republican trying to convince people a Democratic program doesn't work.

I find it strange you'd think his "dissing cash for clunkers" is an "albatross." Dissing Obama programs is going to be at least 80% of the GOP 2012 platform. They have no ideas of their own; they will live or die by their success at attacking every single thing Obama does on every single possible point. Dissing programs that are popular is doubly necessary, since their game plan relies on convincing the public that they don't like anything Obama's done.