(Image Source: TimPawlenty.com)

BY TRACY PFEIFFER

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

You're watching multisource politics news analysis from Newsy.

The field of GOP contenders for the presidency becomes a little clearer.
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty tosses his hat in the ring -- with a media blitz.

Even after announcing he would officially announce Monday -- Pawlenty’s campaign posted this video to his website on Sunday.

TIM PAWLENTY: “We need a president who understands that our problems are deep and who has the courage to face them. President Obama doesn’t. I do.” (YouTube/GovernorTimPawlenty)

And then he hit the morning talk shows -- on NBC’s TODAY Show, ABC’s Good Morning America and the CBS Early Show, while his senior campaign advisor hit up MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown.

Pundits say Pawlenty’s star will get a little push from the official exit of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.
But they also say -- he might be too quote- “vanilla” for the race.

TIME’s Swampland blog has the headline: “Is Tim Pawlenty the Process-of-Elimination Candidate?”

And that article points to an extensive piece also from TIME’s Michael Crowley. He says -- Pawlenty may just be too nice to win.

“Conservative activists want a political ninja to kickbox his way to the White House... He's smart, likable and decent... He cut taxes and reined in spending in his two terms as governor of Minnesota, proving himself a solid conservative but not a fanatical ideologue. Those credentials have earned him the respect of Republican insiders. But poll after poll shows that he's yet to catch on with voters.”

That’s a criticism Pawlenty was all-too-ready to answer on the talk show circuit, telling NBC--

TIM PAWLENTY: “I'm not running for entertainer in chief. These are serious times and they need serious people with serious solutions, so if you are looking for the loudest or a comedian in the race, vote for somebody else, but I’ll bring the solutions forward that will actually fix the country.”

And on Fox News -- a familiar face during campaign season. Former Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush Karl Rove says, Pawlenty’s image as “too nice” isn’t a dealbreaker -- yet.

KARL ROVE: “You need to put an edge on it. But the important thing is that he’s gotten an edge over the last year. You see it in the video, you’ll see it today in his comments and the next several days in which he’s gonna go to places like Washington, D.C., and say some hard things, that they’re gonna be controversial.”

In his morning show interviews -- Pawlenty made it clear he wants to talk business, and used a catchphrase to do it. He even throws out the phrase -- in various forms -- at least four times in his CBS interview.

“We’re gonna have to look the American people in the eye--”
“So we have to look the American people in the eye--”
“We have a president who’s unwilling or unable to look the American people in the eye--”

Finally, writers for Politico say -- Pawlenty’s first real test will be in Iowa. They argue -- he has a long way to go as far as name recognition -- and needs to quote- “catch fire somewhere early.”

“For Pawlenty, Iowa plays the same role that it did for John Edwards in the Democratic nomination four years ago - without a breakout performance there it’s difficult to see how he’d overcome better-known rivals beyond the Hawkeye State.”

And the former governor seems way ahead of them -- Pawlenty’s official official announcement -- what he calls his first campaign stop -- was in Iowa.

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