On CBN's The Brody File Show this week, we speak exclusively with Mary and Tim Pawlenty as we begin a series of 30-minute shows called, "The Elephant in the Room" where we profile each likely GOP presidential contender.
Chris Cillizza from The Washington Post and Politico’s Jonathan Martin are on the show to offer analysis and former Minnesota Congressman Vin Weber comes on the show to "make the case" as to why Pawlenty would be a great choice to take on President Obama in 2012.
The whole show is here but we have three show clips below.
Below watch the open to the show and then an interview with Mary and Tim Pawlenty. Transcriptions below.
PLEASE VIDEO COURTESY CBN NEWS/THE BRODY FILE. IN ARTICLES, COURTESY: "On CBN's The Brody File Show"
On his conversation with his daughter about whether he'll run for president:
Tim Pawlenty: She says, 'Dad are you gonna run for President?' And I said 'I don't know honey I'm not sure.' And she paused for a second and then said, 'Well just don't embarrass the family."
On how he will decide if he’ll run for president:
Pawlenty: Is what we have to offer, my experiences, my results, my record what the country needs? And am I the right person to offer that? Does the country need that and if the answer to that is yes then we're going to work hard to try and improve it.
On Obamacare:
Pawlenty: I think it's one of the worst pieces of legislation in the modern history of the country. It was a bait and switch tactic. They said they're going to make healthcare more affordable. In fact, they're going to make it more expensive.
On meeting each other in law school:
Mary Pawlenty: I thought he had this incredible voice and I thought who is this guy? So I was wild about him right away.
Tim Pawlenty: Mine's more simple David. She walked through the library and I thought wow she's hot!
On his faith:
Tim Pawlenty: If the nation turns its back on God or push him out of the equation we're going to be a much poorer nation for it.
Tim Pawlenty: We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe what Jesus taught is things that we not only believe in but try our very best to follow. Jesus is who he says he is and it's both simple but also profound.
Below watch a clip from the show where Jonathan Martin and Chris Cillizza size up Pawlenty's chances in 2012. Transcriptions below as well.
PLEASE VIDEO COURTESY CBN NEWS/THE BRODY FILE.IN ARTICLES, COURTESY: "On CBN's The Brody File Show"
Jonathan Martin: I think you’d say he probably starts off in the middle with a solid chance to get in the top.
Jonathan Martin: I think it’s pretty simple for him. If he can get a foothold there (Iowa) and break out in Iowa and come in the money there then I think he’s got a real shot
Chris Cillizza: Pawlenty I think has a real case to be made in Iowa. I think in New Hampshire actually you can argue the issues of Minnesota that he’s tackled are the issues of New Hampshire. His fiscal conservatism which he spent a lot of time focusing on in the waning days of his governorship in Minnesota will play well in Minnesota so he is a guy if you look at the first two states you think possibly he could win.
Finally, watch Pawlenty talk about what his appeal to voters can be if and when he runs in 2012. Cillizza and Martin react to his comments. Transcriptions below.
PLEASE VIDEO COURTESY CBN NEWS/THE BRODY FILE. IN ARTICLES, COURTESY: "On CBN's The Brody File Show"
Tim Pawlenty: One of the values I think I can help with beyond Minnesota is look, I’ve got an incredibly good I think conservative record. I was just one of four governors in the country named by the Cato Institute to get an A grade in terms of fiscally conservative discipline but I can also present the message in a way that attracts Independents and conservative Democrats not by becoming more like a liberal but by convincing them that it is a good idea to come on board the conservative or Republican cause so having the experience in Minnesota of having to operate in that liberal environment gives me that extra experience or tool that I think would be helpful to the rest of the country.
Mary Pawlenty: One of the things that I think Tim does particularly well is that he connects with people who are at least considering whether perhaps a more conservative candidate might be one for them so he’s someone who connect with people who are blue collar, people who are really looking for someone whose life experience connects a bit more with theirs and I think it’s a significant part of who he is and his upbringing and so I think he reaches a cross section of people that perhaps sometimes other candidates may not.
Jonathan Martin: You’re hearing there a message that is basically I’m not Mitt Romney. I can relate to the average guy. I’m out there working on a factory line but it’s also I’m not Sarah Palin took.
Jonathan Martin: “He’s making a General Election argument. He’s getting into the electability argument and saying look I’m someone that can go out there and carry the Great Lake states, carry the sort of Rust Belt kind of places where you have to have to win the presidency.
Chris Cillizza: You know what I heard both in Mary Pawlenty and Tim Pawlenty there is hey we can be everybody’s second choice. I mean in a way I think that’s the argument that they’re making. OK, he may not be the kind of Evangelical conservative as a Huckabee or a Palin way. He may not be a kind of businessman conservative in a Romney way or even a Mitch Daniels way but he can kind of fuse the two and I think he’s making the argument which is look neither one of these is going to beat Barack Obama. We need a combination of the two. You may not love me but I hope you like me enough to give me the vote. I really think that may be his nitch: The likeable guy who you feel like si the most acceptable.”