Pawlenty drops out of presidential race after poor straw poll finish

[Chris_]

Pawlenty drops out of presidential race after poor straw poll finish

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) dropped his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination following a disappointing finish at the Ames straw poll.

Pawlenty became the first Republican candidate to exit the presidential campaign. He finished a distant third at the straw poll yesterday in Iowa, despite pouring most of his remaining campaign resources into securing a good performance there.

The former Minnesota governor made his announcement on ABC's "This Week," and told supporters about his decision in a conference call beforehand.

The Hill

How sad.  So unfortunate.

[NHSparky]

Too bad we can't get Dr. Nutz to do the same.

[Chris_]

Maybe T-Paw (*snicker*) will do something useful and donate his campaign donations to charity.  I wonder how much money he's sitting on.

[NHSparky]

Maybe T-Paw (*snicker*) will do something useful and donate his campaign donations to charity.  I wonder how much money he's sitting on.

Can't imagine it's a whole helluva lot.  He spent over $2 million in the runup to Ames.

Then again, so did Bachman and Paul.  Shooting their wads a bit early, methinks.

[olde north church]

The "Minnesota Milquetoast" had a problem.  He never knew who to attack and when he finally did, it was a girl!

[DumbAss Tanker]

The "Minnesota Milquetoast" had a problem.  He never knew who to attack and when he finally did, it was a girl!

Yeah.  He might have done a lot better attacking the Democrats instead of going after Bachmann, who is nothing if not a scrapper.

[FreeBorn]

Awww... Timmy we hardly knew ya! 

[Ralph Wiggum]

I just found this in my junk mail folder:

Hello Friends -

I want to congratulate Congresswoman Bachmann on her victory in today's straw poll. I'm also very proud of the work my campaign has done, and I appreciate their hard work. As I've said all along, we needed to show progress to do well, and we did just that. This is a long process to restore America -- we are just beginning, and I'm eager for the campaign.

I'm encouraged by our progress, and I'm so thankful for the thousands of Iowans who showed their support for my candidacy by voting for me in Ames. Don't miss my remarks at the straw poll earlier today including our latest video. 
 
We are now moving onto the next phase of our campaign. Over the coming weeks we will be visiting New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida while continuing to grow our already strong ground game in Iowa.
 
Mary and I will never forget your continued support, words of encouragement, and friendship. But we need YOUR help to take the message that resonated in Iowa to the rest of the country. Can I count on you for a special “Victory Contribution” of $25, $50, $100 or even $250, to commemorate our strong showing in Ames?
 
We’ve completed an important first step on the road to the Republican nomination and, ultimately, the White House.  We can’t do it alone, and I need your support to continue the journey.
 
Sincerely,


Tim Pawlenty