Ed Kilgore looks at Pawlenty's downside:
Pawlenty was, and remains, a fine "on-paper" candidate who doesn't have much else going for him. Yes, he seems to be putting together a pretty good campaign team. And yes, he's made at least one attempt to get into the manic spirit of today's conservativism by flirting with "tenther" nullification theories. But unless he undergoes both an ideological and personality change of a major nature, he's never going to be more than a third or fourth choice among the kind of hard-core conservative activists who dominate the Republican presidential nominating process (particularly in Iowa, where familiarity with Pawlenty as the mild-mannered governor of a neighboring state might actually hurt him).
I fear he's Dubya II: a soft mask for an extremist base. I hope he's serious about government. Speaking of which, a shout-out to Bobby Jindal. His recent statement that his party needs to focus on constructive policy ideas rather than the Fox circus was running against the current. That's a sign of leadership and promise.