TPAW Quits Race--First in, First Out

In March, George Will wrote that the next President of the United States would be Barack Obama, Mitch Daniels or Tim Pawlenty. So I guess we're down to one.

Tim Pawlenty didn't just quit because he placed third in the Ames Straw Poll. His campaign had been anemic and his donor base was shrinking if not disappearing. Pawlenty has been running for President since before he left the Minnesota state house. To adapt to the challenging GOP, he twisted himself into a pretzel on issues from global warming, evolution and health care. By the time he actually declared he was no longer recognizable and had lost his working-class narrative. He simply was not designed for Teabaggerland. You knew he had troubles when he was asked,"Why he was running?" He didn't have an answer. And he was incredibly boring on the stump.

Since he didn't register much support among those polled on the nomination, the question is a little moot about who will pick up his supporters.

Instead of Fact-Checking, could the media develop a Truth-Telling index to let us know whether Michelle Bachmann actually says a true statement of fact? So far there is virtually nothing she has said that bears anything remotely connected to fact-based reality.

I thought David Axelrod and Ms. Wasserman-Schultz were lame in attacking Rick Perry's job creation record. It's not good enough to point to the wars and the oil industry to account for Texas' job record. Let's face it Texas at 8% unemployment isn't great shakes compared to New York State. The real response would be that the majority of the jobs he created were in the public sector (true) and most others pay the minimum wage. Is this worth eviscerating our educational systems and the social welfare net for? That's what Rick Perry has done.

The Left bemoans how the Republicans have controlled the whole economic debate, turning it into a discussion on the debt. I think the problem is more serious than that. I think the issue is that after decades of manipulating the media politics has been reduced to pure symbolism. What interested me in the first two years of the Obama Administration were the serious debates on domestic policy. But I like that sort of thing. Most Americans do not want to listen about legislative procedures and they do not understand or respond to the GOP using filibusters more times than at any time in our history to obstruct progress. Basically, we want the sausage made and not to know how it's made.

That's why the next election will come down to appearances and the realm of likes and dislikes. The fact that Mitt Romney actually had a terrible record in job creation and his fortune is built on making people unemployed will not be seen as relevant. It also doesn't matter that he has changed every one of his positions over the years. Nor does it matter that he doesn't know when his economic plan would produce results. Does he look like a President and does the voter identify with him? Or do they really think he's Weird. The same for Rick Perry. Do you go for that Texas act or not? Is doesn't matter that he presides over a Giant Alabama. The same with President Obama. Do you like a cool, rational man and eloquent man as President or not? For Obama, then it will come down to the employment numbers and whether there is any sense there is movement in the economy. Sad but true.