Last Friday, commentator Bill O’Reilly declared Tim Pawlenty was ‘too vanilla.’ He meant that Pawlenty was not an entertainer and lacked charisma. The former Minnesota governor says he isn’t running to be “comedian-in-chief.”
According to FoxNews.com:
Tim Pawlenty may be nice, but he’s not willing to be anybody’s fool. So says the former Minnesota governor and 2012 presidential candidate, who blasted claims by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly that he is too “vanilla” to be president.
“Is he playing the race card on me?” Pawlenty jokingly asked on “Fox News Sunday” before getting serious.
“I’m not running for comedian- in-chief, or entertainer-in-chief. If people want that, they should go to the ball park or Broadway play or a Las Vegas show. … Being strong is not the same as being loud. … So, if you want the clown-in-chief, vote for somebody else. That’s not me.”
Interesting comments from both O’Reilly and Pawlenty. Is it really necessary to have great charisma? Remember Al Gore being compared to a wooden Indian? It was seen to be his downfall at the time. What does a candidate need? Is Pawlenty lacking personality or entertainment factor and is it really necessary to light up crowds? Do ideas even count any more?
The guy seems to be thoughtful and have some solid plans and policy platforms–some that just won’t fit on the head of a sound byte. Some of us find that very refreshing. 7 candidates will put in an appearance at the New Hampshire debates tonight. How will vanilla stack up against the flavor of the month? Odd choice of words after 2 weeks of Weinergate. I think O’Reilly did Pawlenty a big favor, considering the timing.
Those who want to sample the flavors can turn in to CNN tonight at 8 pm.
Does a candidate need charisma? All those television cameras around ought to help focus in on the answer.
Unfortunately, in our mass-media, pop-culture driven society, yes, a politician needs some charisma. Obama understood this, and rode it to the whitehouse. When you look back on his actual accomplishments, his qualifications, and readiness to serve, you can really see that he is “all sizzle, no steak”. This has become painfully apparent now. His handling of the economy, his foregin policy blunders. We can see this.
But Tim Pawlenty is still realtively unknown nationally. He did manage to get himself elected governor in his home state. So, I would say he’s got something. We just haven’t seen it yet.
I will say if the economy continues to falter, Obama’s “cult of personality” will not be enough to get him re-elected. Depending on how much people are hurting in the run up to the election, I think folks will be more apt to vote for someone who is “all business”. Pawlenty is who I am supporting, and I’ve been a fan for some time.
So Steve, what is it that you like about Pawlenty? What should viewers look for tonight in the debates?
He’s a budget hawk. Look for substantitive proposals for addressing our budget woes. As demonstrated in his refusal to accept federal dollars with strings attached, look for him to oppose bailing out states that spent themselves into budget problems.
He lowered the state tax but the result was increased local taxes. Look at PWC – now WE pay for roads….
I don’t really have a problem with that. I’d much rather pay taxes to the county than to Richmond.
I think I would rather the state build the roads.
Well, that’s still not cutting taxes is it?! That’s shifting responsibility. And I’m with Moon, how much can the state shift to locals? Isn’t that like shifting immigration issues to states? The lines of core missions have been blurred.
I’d really like some more career firefighters…. I don’t have to have it happen to me to see the need for prevention – the volunteer system is no longer reliable or as well trained. And street lighting!!!
I would like to see more career firefighters also. Lighting in the county is …non-existent in some places. It is great for crime prevention. It would also help to put some of those discretionary funds to use for beautification like planting a few trees, throwing down some bulbs and wild flower seeds. Those are inexpensive ways to spruce things up.