Jim Cole/AP
Tim Pawlenty (file)
As frequent viewers of this show know, Lawrence is placing his bets on Tim Pawlenty in 2012. What makes him The Last Word's official pick to win the Republican nomination for president? Lawrence explained his theory in-depth on last night’s show. Basically, it comes down to a few main factors.
Simple process of elimination:
The former Minnesota governor could be the last man standing based upon the simple fact the pool of contenders is weaker than elections past. To Lawrence, “there's something seriously wrong with every other Republican candidate. Pawlenty is going to end up the last man standing."
He’s a safe bet:
Pawlenty's vanilla take on everything (excluding his bizarre "Google Test" to solve the debt crisis) generally pleases both tea party-style activists and establishment Republicans alike. He's the GOP’s safety school – he's not everyone’s first choice, but would probably turn out okay. Maybe he'd even throw a good party once in a while. He dares to be boring, and it could pay off.
Genius of staying mum on “Obamneycare”:
The former Minnesota governor coined the nickname “Obamneycare” to compare Obama’s health care reform law with the law Mitt Romney enacted as Massachusetts governor. Then all of a sudden, as many pundits have pointed out, he choked on repeating his catchphrase at the recent GOP debate. To Lawrence, he’s simply following the Reagan rule: "you don’t fight with these guys on the stage." He doesn’t want to have a "voodoo economics" moment like Bush did with Reagan. Plus, keeping quiet opens the door for a possible VP slot. Besides, Rush Limbaugh is going to keep hammering away at Romney, so T-Paw need not worry.
What's your take? Tell us your theory on the GOP pick in the space below.
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The thing that is wrong with him is that he is seriously boring and voters do not like that. Rally-goers don't like that, they like bombastic or loud or at least charismatic. This guy is the opposite of all those. He's maybe a younger Republican version of John Kerry minus the military achievements. So that's what's wrong with him. The debate also showed the lack of any backbone, which I had previously suspected given his extreme tendency to pander to what ever audience he's talking to (reasonable discussion at the Daily Show, then birther stuff at CPAC etc.).
But Lawrence is right that there's something very wrong with all the other candidates too, including the two who weren't at the CNN debate Huntsman and Johnson, who have or will committ the greatest Republican crime of all, being reasonable (at times)! So who knows, I wouldn't put it past Lawrence to be right. I believe he has already nailed Trump, Palin and Newt, so why not the sort of serious candidates as well?
It was interesting to see Governor Perry's approach to winning the nomination. He is a George W. Bush impersonator. He has the accent down, the haircut, the shrug, the laugh, the boyish "aw shucks" phony folksiness, and the mildly veiled sadistic sense of humour can comes across like a bunch of good old boys joking in gentle voices about lynching.
The Republicans must be getting desperate if they think W. is something to aspire to.
Seward, Chase and Bates were all the top contenders for the 1860 presidential election. Through some excellent political maneuvering Lincoln's supporters were able to convince the Republican convention delegates to choose Lincoln as their second choice. As disagreements as to which candidate should be chosen arose, Lincoln came up from behind as the dark horse to victory.
So, O'Donnell may have something there!
AAAH Lawrence, you're endorsing a guy that you know don't stand a chance in hell of beating Barrack Obama. Nice try but in ain't gonna happen. Just wait for Trump to declare his candidacy next year as an Independent then you really get something to talk about in your show.
A good joke!
I watched your show and Chris Matthew's the day after the debate and neither of you mentioned what i thought was the funniest moment of the debate. Mitt Romany in talking about fema said that it would be good to make it a state issue and if possible put it in the hands of the private sector.
Mitt Romany said he would want FEMA as a for profit business! I thought that was suicide when i watched it and nobody pointed it out ) :