Tim Pawlenty, Possible McCain Running Mate, Says GOP Needs Obama's Positive Message

ARLINGTON, Va. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, often mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said Wednesday GOP candidates would do well to adopt a positive tone like that of McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama.

"Say what you will about Barack Obama," the Minnesota Republican told a conservative group, "people gravitate when you have something positive to say." He added that McCain has been positive as well.

"People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders," Pawlenty said in a speech to GOPAC, which helps recruit Republican candidates. "They don't want to follow some negative, scornful person."

Ronald Reagan still offers important lessons for today's Republican Party, Pawlenty said, because the former president was civil, optimistic, pragmatic and a good communicator.

"He actually had some ideas," Pawlenty said, adding that the Republican idea factory has seemed "a little stagnant in recent years."

Pawlenty, 47, said he came of age during President Reagan's tenure in the 1980s, but acknowledged the Republican icon is ancient history to young people.

"If you're under 40, that was a long time ago, man," he said to laughter.

The party needs to update its message to appeal to voters who want new ideas and government results and to counter the perception that Republicans are "not for the working person," Pawlenty said. He advocated policies like better training and performance pay for teachers, online college education opportunities and reworking health insurance to reward providers that show good results and save money.

Pawlenty shied away from talking about joining McCain on the ticket.

Comments

[Trittydi]

Reagan was nothing but trouble. And he could talk up a storm, as noted. McSame is nothing either and he can't even talk a good game.

Repuglics -- the party of white doughy bigots, perverts, pedophiles, murderers, war criminals, homophobes and misogynists. And Liars.

Spin that Pawlenty.
* .

[Scarllatti]

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

[exflatlander]

Sad and mean-sound as the above sounds, I'm afraid that is how one would have to describe the Republican Party's message today, from the anti-female contraception regs to the executions in Texas of a preponderance of black men ( even if they aren't guilty- "what the hell! he's black, ain't he?") by Bush, the "compassionate conservative." What a joke that has turned out to be.

Trittydi, you forgot to ad, "bullies." They have ruined this country by bullying the Democrats to the point where if they dare to oppose a misguided policy, they're unpatriotic traitors - and people believe it. I'm not proud of my spineless Democratic Congress, but when they have tried, the Repugs have stood shoulder to shoulder demonizing and obstructing. It's pretty obvious to anybody who can think that party loyalty means more to a Republican than loyalty to country. So who are the unpatriotic traitors? (Remember the treatment of Jim Jeffords for following his conscience and leaving the party. )

Now I'll say something I NEVER would have anticipated saying:"Thank you, Paris HIlton, for your fight-back ad. It was clever and really exposed the McCain "strategy" for what it is: a nasty smear campaign." The irony is that she proposed in her "campaign ad" Obama's latest stand on off-shore drilling. She makes it sound so reasonable. The Republican knee-jerk response was to say he flip-flopped. They don't know the meaning of adjusting policy to accommodate reality.

[kevingiampa]

Everybody get your McCain/Pawlenty bumper stickers this Fall. They'll make quite a collector's item, someday. In the long history of America, one that includes slavery and Jim Crow, segregation, lynchings, police brutality, race riots, race wars, there will be one ticket who will manage to, in landslide fashion, lose to a candidate of color, and thus open the doors of power to people of all races, creeds, and genders. Thank you, McCain/Pawlenty, for making so many Americans, even the bigots, realize that they have to a chance on the black guy. McCain/Pawlenty: Blatantly Wrong for America.

[SouthFloridaDem]

Hmmm. I can see why he shied away from talking about joining the ticket.

[nellie]

"People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders,"

Well, that pretty much leaves out the current crop of corporate neo cons, whose only chance at getting votes for their anti-public agenda is to lie about their opponents, churn out negative ads because they have no agenda that the public will go for, and scare people into ignoring their own best interests. All this so they can steal from the treasury. Good luck with that hopeful thing.

[SCG]

"Decent leaders?" That rules much of the republican party out.

[genseric13]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12334.html

It's all downhill from here.

[honeydiva]

in your dreams.

[StarkRavingNakedEmperor]

"It's all downhill from here."

You're correct! With the number 13 (the Death Card in the Tarot deck) and the deathly combination of anagrams contained in your moniker (neg, serin, generic, and etc), it is a miracle you are still with us!

[digitaltruth]

Try looking at pollster.com. Just like Obama won the Democratic Primary by going after Delegates, Obama will win the 2008 presidential election on November 4th by going after electoral votes. The Obama '08 campaign is being run at levels the McCain camp can only dream of. Obama's lead in electoral polling is insurmountable. Leadership is evidenced by results. How anyone can think McCain would be any different than Bush, when McCain is touting the same tired policies as Bush is the real mystery.

[exflatlander]

Have you forgotten the people who don't answser the phone when they don't recognize the number? Have you forgotten the working class people ( Obama sonstituency - if they could just figure ithat out) are too busy serving lunch at the diners to answer polls? Have you forgotten that the young voters, overwhelmingly for Obama) are wedded to their cell phones and are on them all the time? Gallup et alia can no longer rely on those sitting at home watching soap operas or Fox News for their polls. Remember the New Hampshire primary.

[sawdustinhershoes]

In your dreams.

Btw, with Bush as our prez, there is no downhill, we're as low as we can go.

Obama's polling numbers have paused, hesitated from their rocketing upward. Oh no.!!! Maybe if they polled registered voters, they'd see a different outcome.

Who has landline phones anymore, anyway?

[athenasword]

He's right, but McBush and Co. only have negative, scornful things to say. That's their strategy and the only thing they can rely on to win.

[sawdustinhershoes]

It worked before, didn't it.

You can never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. However, if you can get them to stop consuming a moment, and threaten their consumption habits with the situation Bush has created and maybe they'll think,...,

Naw, too much to hope for.

[waitforme]

Pawlenty's face and smile give a nice look, reminiscent of John Kennedy. But look at his eyes: They are very very guarded. This may be partly due to looking toward too much light, but if we notice he doesn't open his eyes also in other photographs we need to worry that he is hiding something. Someone may be an OK guy while keeping his audience from seeing his eyes, but many of the bad guys do this, if you'll notice. It may indicate not wanting to be seen -- fully. Indicate. at any rate, not trusting people much. This eye-hiding may not relate directly to how the person treats or will treat his public, but it is well to keep in mind that it may. (It may simply indicate having been through considerable trauma as a child and developing the habit of not showing his emotions.)

[waitforme]

Correction! If the picture on the front page is the same Pawlenty, then his eyes are not chronically squinted and therefore I retract the above. (My mistake. EraseErase.)

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

“Tell them to come back and get to work!” John Mc Cain yelled out. “Tell them to get to work!”

McCain has "an absentee rate of 63.3 percent, higher than" damn near everybody including Senators defeated in the prior election.

[NoSandwiches]

Pawlenty wishes McCain weren't so negative and had something to say too.

I'm guessing he isn't getting the number 2 slot.

He knows a loser when he sees one.

[bosshogg]

Pawlenty,Mittens,Palin threw mccain under bus this week and Fiorina was responsible for the viagra question........................................

[mairs]

"People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders," Pawlenty said. It's very simple. He's right. Here that McSimple?

[SCG]

I don't understand the interest in Mc Ca.in's running mate.

He has one. http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5462/theelephantmccain500uj4.jpg

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Verdict with Dan Abrams was great tonight. They showed clips with the celebrity McBush co-hosting on SNL in 2002. McBush was quite the actor and celebrity when it pleased his fancy. 0bama should play clips of his performance in a commercial if he wants to talk about who likes being the celebrity.

Maureen Dowd was right on with her column on the myth of McBush.

"Mc Cain could dismiss W. as a lightweight, but he knows O bama’s smart. O bama wrote his own books, while Mc Cain’s were written by Salter. Mc Cain knows he’s the affirmative action scion of admirals who might not have gotten through Annapolis without being a legacy. O bama didn’t even tell Harvard Law School that he was black on his application."

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/opinion/06dowd.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

[nellie]

Excellent. Thank you. The paragraph you quoted. really nails it. The difference between the entrenched elitist posing as a maverick and the statesman who wants to solve problems.

[gladys46]

Sleepy ... nite people!

[SCG]

Nite Gladys, take care.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

nighty night

[bosshogg]

nite............

[hydenorhare]

Be more like O-bama?

Sounds like WWJD.

Besides, what Mc-Cain really needs is a few of the media hickies the press regularly give Lil' Bama.

Those guys are out to protect The One at the expense of whatever passes for integrity in their profession.

[BWonka]

Boo hoo hoo.... poor mc failure and them what loves him

[pbfishtaco]

Boy that tactic will really stick with moderates and non-fundamentalists. Do you really take pride in being ignorant?

[nellie]

I think his post answers that question.

[JayHorus]

You better hope and pray that the MSM doesn't wake up from it's perpetual slumber and start looking at McCain like they are with Obama. If they do they will show the American public that compared to McCain, Obama really does look the "The One". However I will not hold my breath on that. With spineless jellyfish we now have for reporters that kind of scrutiny will not likely happen. To me most of the reporters out there now are nothing more than used car salesmen/women. They are pitching their product and they never underestimate the stupidity of the American People!!!