Tim Pawlenty: Charlie Sheen, Republicans Have Something 'In Common'

Potential presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty made a reference to Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen while speaking to a group of college Republicans in Des Moines, Iowa last week.

"We may not in this room have tiger blood like he does," he said, according to the Des Moines Register. "But we've got something else in common with him. There's going to be a lot of winning on the Republican side in 2012."

HuffPost's Jon Ward recently reported on Pawlenty's persona:

Tim Pawlenty is smart, articulate and has a strong conservative record. He's a super-nice fellow, supporters say, personable and down to earth.

But he's also kind of boring.

The former Minnesota governor and prospective GOP presidential candidate is well aware of what's known as his charisma deficit and has done a few things to try to soup up his profile. He's taken increasingly hard lines on controversial issues, arguing that Republicans should not raise the federal government's debt ceiling and instead avoid default with deep spending cuts. He's also gone out of his way to speak up in support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's showdown with public-sector labor unions.

Last month, Pawlenty announced the launch of a presidential exploratory committee for the next election cycle. He has recently taken his conservative message to several key early primary states.