Ramesh Ponnuru: Pawlenty Can Win

Guy Benson | March 08, 2011 9:10 AM

The conventional wisdom on Tim Pawlenty's presumptive presidential bid is that he's too bland, lacks charisma, and is a relative unknown -- all of which diminish his prospects.

National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru profiles Pawlenty and envisions a number of paths to victory for the former Minnesota Governor:

Pawlenty is more electable than Palin, who is on the wrong end of a two-to-one split in public opinion; or Huckabee, who has never demonstrated any ability to win votes from non-evangelical voters; or Gingrich, who has enough baggage to open a Louis Vuitton store; or Haley Barbour, who, as a former lobbyist for tobacco companies and the governor of Mississippi, combines several Republican stereotypes to damaging effect. Electability would probably hand Pawlenty the nomination in a one-on-one race against any of these contenders.

He would probably beat Romney in a head-to-head race, too. Like Romney, Pawlenty was elected governor of a blue state in 2002. But there are at least five big differences between them that primary voters may find tell in the Minnesotan’s favor. First, Pawlenty was elected as a conservative whereas Romney ran as a moderate. Second, Pawlenty pursued a more confrontational strategy: He didn’t cut any grand bipartisan deal, as Romney did with Ted Kennedy on health care. Third, and as a result, Pawlenty’s record does not include anything as likely to offend conservative voters as Romney’s Massachusetts health-care law, which made the purchase of health insurance compulsory.

Fourth, Pawlenty won reelection in his blue state, even in 2006, which was a slaughterhouse of a year for Republicans. Romney, by contrast, left the governorship after one term: He was unable to position himself as a conservative for a presidential run while staying popular in his home state. Fifth, Pawlenty has an ability to connect to blue-collar voters that Romney has never demonstrated.

Team Pawlenty is hoping their guy turns into to be a consensus conservative pick -- perhaps not immediately, but equally inoffensive, to the majority of the base. Ponnuru suggests that if TPaw can force any of his rivals into a two-man race, he'll prevail.

UPDATE - Mitt Romney is beginning to unveil his Romneycare vs. Obamacare talking points, arguing that he was right to pursue his Massachusetts policy, whereas Obamacare should be repealed. Hello, federalism: