Pawlenty's Smarter Than Most GOP Candidates

Tim Pawlenty has been touted by many in the Republican establishment for months now as being a real possibility for the Republican presidential nomination. But that was just wishful thinking on their part. He tried hard but just couldn't catch on with rank-and-file Republican voters. Maybe he just wasn't quite crazy enough for the teabaggers.

The big Iowa Straw Poll was Saturday -- the event held the summer before each presidential election to determine where the Republican hopefuls stand. This year's poll was a critical one for Pawlenty. He needed to finish near the top to keep his campaign alive and get some money flowing into it. That didn't happen.

Bachmann and Paul finished first and second (in a virtual tie) while Pawlenty finished a poor third. He got slightly less than half the votes of either Bachmann or Paul. That was not good, considering Pawlenty was governor of a state bordering Iowa -- almost a hometown boy. He needed to shine in the Midwest.

He tried to play it off Saturday night and act like his third place finish was a good thing. But when he got away from the crowds and cameras, reality came crashing down on him. He realized it was over. On Sunday morning he told his supporters, and then he announced it to the rest of the world -- he was suspending his campaign and calling to a halt his bid to become the GOP presidential nominee.

When he did that he proved himself smarter than most of the other GOP candidates for the nomination. He was smart enough to recognize the end when it came. Several of the others don't seem to be that smart.

Take Rick Santorum for example. Santorum has been unable to get into double-digit percentages in any of the multiple polls held this year. And even though he spent more time campaigning in Iowa than any other candidate, he finished a poor fourth -- unable to even match Pawlenty. The only thing he's doing is wasting time and money.

And he's not the only one. Herman Cain makes a good token for the Party of White, but there's no way they're going to give him the nomination. Newt Gingrich's campaign died a month ago -- he just won't admit it and give it a decent burial. As for Huntsman, Roemer, Johnson, and McCotter -- well, they've never really been in the race anyway.

It's now looking like the nomination is coming down to four people -- Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Ron Paul (who has only an outside chance). Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani could still jump in and make it a real donnybrook, but I don't think they will at this point.

That's what I think. What do you think?