DAMN! Pawlenty practically announced he's running for Franken's seat on CNN!

[liberalhistorian]

27. I'm in MN for graduate school right now,

and from what I'm hearing Pawlenty is VERY unpopular, even among many republicans. He may have been elected twice as governor, but keep in mind that the last time was over a decade ago and it's widely believed that he royally fucked up the state's economy and did other sucky stuff. He's also widely considered very arrogant and egotistical, even for a politician and especially even for a republican. Last year, he actually threw a fit because the informational plaque that accompanied his portrait in the capitol was not "accurate enough" in listing his "many substantial accomplishments" in the state and he accused the state's historical society of "liberal bias". Keep in mind, he still thinks he did great economically, while the wide consensus is that he truly sucked in that regard.

Now, some of this is anecdotal and I'm sure he has his fans here, but I don't think he'd do too well in a primary or, if he did make it past the primary, in the general election. I would certainly hope not.