Tim Pawlenty Named The 'Least Influential' Person Alive By 'GQ'

GQ named former Republican presidential candidate and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as the "least influential" person alive in its December 2011 issue.

"T-Paw (as he calls himself) spent much of 2011 as a six-foot-tall paperweight, an aggressively forgettable fellow perfectly suited to the role of debate filler," wrote Drew Magary for GQ. "The $1 million he spent to lose the Iowa straw poll might as well have been burned in front of a group of orphans."

Pawlenty beat out MSNBC host Ed Schultz, country singer Hank Williams Jr., former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Marcus Bachmann, husband of Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), and others for first place.

Pawlenty dropped out of the Republican presidential race hours after coming in third in the Iowa straw poll behind Bachmann and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). He endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president.

Pawlenty recently spoke on a conference call for the Romney campaign, saying that Democrats were attacking the former Massachusetts governor so much because they see him as the strongest candidate.

In October, he said that he would have stayed in the race "if I would have known then what I know now." Pawlenty had over $450,000 in debt from his campaign, according to his third-quarter report ending September 30.

Comments

[anthony enlow]

03:56 PM on 12/05/2011

The problem is that T-Paw was actually running for POTUS, not giving a book tour, not looking for more buckle bunnies, not trying to increase his speaker fees, not trying to get a gig on Fox. Next time, he will change those priorities, but 'agressively forgettable" is such a great term, I must remeber it for my enemies.

[dagacheme]

09:12 PM on 12/04/2011

And the most influential person alive? \

RON PAUL

[haval2]

08:41 AM on 11/30/2011

pathetic ... and he was their big shot in the beginning. what a party of losers and haters...

[Darrell Grant]

06:42 AM on 11/30/2011

Tim who?

[Imzadi]

05:55 AM on 11/30/2011

{wiping tears of mirth from my eyes}....

GQ just confirmed what we Minnesotans have known for decades. Outstanding.

[Yota Daga]

05:17 AM on 11/30/2011

Mrs Pawlenty, are you going to vote for Tim Pawlenty?
Mrs Pawlenty: "Who?"

[chef151]

05:16 AM on 11/30/2011

'aggressively forgetable' is a fantastic term.

[Finn Wilsonshire]

03:28 AM on 11/30/2011

Obama is clearly the least influential.

[chef151]

05:15 AM on 11/30/2011

Totally. Leading the way on a successful international intervention in Libya and killing OBL is soooo NOT influential.

[betrue2]

05:51 AM on 11/30/2011

right, that's why you can't stop obsessing about him.

[Finn Wilsonshire]

03:27 AM on 11/30/2011

T

[Cratewasher]

01:16 AM on 11/30/2011

Now, do your damage to the Romney campaign!

[Brian Schmid]

11:25 PM on 11/29/2011

That list was hilariously perfect! In a group of people who are absolute non-entities, YOU, Mr Pawlenty, are the non-est of them all.

[cameron d]

11:18 PM on 11/29/2011

For the people who like to bring up the fact that President Barack Obama is on this list here is his criteria.

Did you read the blurbs about President Obama and John Boehner?

"This is a man who should be the most transformational figure of the century." - GQ on President Obama

That's a pretty high bar.

Now here is what they have to say about the person one spot ahead of him, John Boehner:

"Boehner, who always looks like someone made him stay at work much longer than he wanted to, represents the self-fulfilling prophecy of open cynicism toward the U.S. government: a politician who was elected specifically to not give a S."

I'd say that there's a rather large gap in between the 24th and 25th spots. Wouldn't you, Republicans?

[ScottyboyLA]

11:07 PM on 11/29/2011

In October, he said that he would have stayed in the race "if I would have known then what I know now." I completely agree. The remaining GOP candidates look like recruitments from PT Barnum himself.

[ojolsen]

10:43 PM on 11/29/2011

Must be pretty sad when you realize that your not on par with the likes of GOP candidates. Poor little t-paw... he's even less influential that that other gop candidate that they won't even let on the debates... what's that guys name?

[iMissMollyIvins]

03:10 AM on 11/30/2011

There are a couple of Republican't Presidential Candidates that aren't welcome at the 'debates', there's the gay guy and the guy who got lost a primary race to David Duke... yes, THAT David Duke.

[Finn Wilsonshire]

03:30 AM on 11/30/2011

You have got to be the ugliest woman that has ever walked the earth.

[smp276dp]

10:37 PM on 11/29/2011

The entire cavalcade of clowns that is the GOP should be standing shoudler to shoulder for that honor.