Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I was very impressed with Tim Pawlenty's interview on This Week:
Although he comes across as Minnesota nice, I noticed that he used rather sharp language in a few places in the interview:
1) He called people who come to Washington to defend the status quo "doofuses"
2) He bemoaned the fate of people who had to send their kids to "crappy schools"
3) He called the approach of the Obama administration on entitlement reform "pathetic"
4) He put himself in the palce of people wondering who these "PIn-Head" politicians are.
Very interesting language and in my opinion very effective. He didn't attack anyone personally or come across as mean-spirited but appeared very passionate. I'd like to hear from the folks in Minnesota who know him; has he always used this kind of language or is he changing his style a little to get some attention to his candidacy ? We're going to need someone who is tough enough to take on the opposition without scaring the bejeezus out of the moderates and independents.
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May '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Same here, BSC. He far surpassed my expectations here. (I guess post-Bush, McCain, Palin, etc., I am disposed to be disappointed in Republican interviews.) He was clear and bold and in command of his material, without the least bit of abrasiveness.
Edited on May 30, 2011 at 8:42amMay '11
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I also thought he handled the hot potato of the Ryan plan very deftly. He would support it over the democrat's approach (which is to do nothing and demogogue it) but also has some of his own ideas which he discussed. Although its hardly a new and unique approach to the politics, it demonstrates a sophistication in his messaging that the Gingrich campaign could only dream of.
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
(Note: You have to click through to YouTube because embedding has been disabled)
Good interview. I have never give Pawlenty too much thought, but this was an impressive introduction that left a very positive first impression on me. I think that as more people get to see what he's about, the better he'll do.
He is certainly soft spoken, calm, and perhaps a little wimpy seeming, but he does well when he lets some of that anger show through. I was most engaged when he spoke about the hypocrisy of D.C. Dems when it comes to education.
Dec '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I've heard that interviews are Pawlenty's strength. This one seems to bear that out.
Also, I think "Minnesota nice" is misconstrued, at least as it is currently used. I always take it to mean "passive aggression."
Dec '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Ahhhh! "...areas where government has some responsibility, like education..."
I agree, much of what he said was what conservatives want to hear, but that one line just ruined the moment for me. I want our standard bearer to talk about and believe in the bottom-up concept of governing versus the Democrats' top-down concept. There is nothing of greater interest to any parent than the content and values taught to his or her children. This is not something with which the federal government should be involved in any way. If conservatives are politically incapable of bringing up abolishing the Department of Education, they're not really offering a contrast to progressives -- they're just saying they'd be better administrators of Leviathan than progressives.
Nov '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Overall, very nice indeed.
I have one criticism: With respect to Medicare, he talks about "pay for performance", which in my experience is simply a way to reward people who are smart and cynical about jumping through certain regulatory hoops. (For example, in my field, radiology, a pay-for-performance measure "requires documentation of absence or presence of hemorrhage, mass lesion and acute infarction in either [head] CT or MRI for patients with symptoms or diagnosis of stroke." So if the report says "the brain parenchyma appears normal" instead of saying "there is no evidence of mass or acute infarction"--the one clearly implying the other--you lose money.)
I guess I'm saying that I like the guy's overall grasp of our fiscal woes, but I'm not sure he gets that the answer has to be more radical than just improving the bureaucracy.
Nov '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Hey, Western Chauvinist, it looks as though you and I picked up on the same deficiency, although on different issues.
Dec '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Precisely.
Dec '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Jinx.
Jun '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I'd describe Pawlenty as the Good Bill Clinton, on the model of the Wizard of Oz's Good Witch vs. Wicked Witch. They're equally smart, and both like to triangulate, but they're on different sides of the fence. Pawlenty just doesn't have the Bill Clinton charisma. If he could come up with that, he'd be unbeatable. As for language, Pawlenty might just be letting some of his working-class roots show. That's good.
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I'm with Blue State Curmudgeon and Katievs. Pawlenty surprised me. Happily.
May '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I'm impressed. He spoke plainly, didn't dodge the questions and didn't buckle to appease the interviewer.
But I share Lucy's doubts about "pay for performance" in the medical field. Symptoms are generally shared by multiple conditions, so diagnosis is accomplished by process of elimination. Doctors prescribe a number of tests which "fail" before the cause of the problem is finally identified. Lawsuits encourage them to over-test, too. As for treatment, we all know curing many diseases is a crapshoot. It's also not uncommon for treatments to fail because patients do not fully participate (don't take their pills every day, don't eat or exercise properly, etc).
In short, the only way I can imagine performance being a basis for pay in the medical field is by allowing customers to choose their own physicians and treatments, seeking the ones with the best reputations. Free the market.
Oct '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Blue State Curmudgeon: I was very impressed with Tim Pawlenty's interview on This Week:
He sounded like a male Sarah Palin. Or a nicer Bill O'Reilly.
Oct '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Remember when people noted that Trump was getting a lot of attention because of his communications style and his aggressiveness in taking it to obama? you gotta ask duane oyen that question.
May '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
I wish he had said something like: You learn some things growing up in a blue collar family that you don't learn in a fancy prep school in Hawaii.
May '11
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Agree with outstipp wholeheartedly. I believe Obama is vulnerable to being painted as an elitist. The guy has never lived in the real world,; prep schools, Harvard, community organizing... Despite how we left-brained conservatives go about it, many people vote based on their gut reaction to a candidate and whether they identify with them; not necessarily for their policies. Pawlenty could have real traction with blue collar voters.
Jun '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
Western Chauvinist: Ahhhh! "...areas where government has some responsibility, like education..."
I agree, much of what he said was what conservatives want to hear, but that one line just ruined the moment for me. I want our standard bearer to talk about and believe in the bottom-up concept of governing versus the Democrats' top-down concept. There is nothing of greater interest to any parent than the content and values taught to his or her children. This is not something with which the federal government should be involved in any way. If conservatives are politically incapable of bringing up abolishing the Department of Education, they're not really offering a contrast to progressives -- they're just saying they'd be better administrators of Leviathan than progressives. · May 30 at 11:21am
I don't think he said or implied the federal government had a role in education, he was asked about his "small government" philosophy and he made a strong case for school choice and vouchers. I believe he had state government in mind here, his background is as a governor after all.
Oct '10
Re: Pawlenty Sharpens his Language
"The more you see him, the more you like him"--pawlenty, paul ryan and herman cain