After more than a year of criss-crossing the country preparing for a White House bid, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty declared on Monday that he is running for president in 2012.

Amid the backdrop of the Iowa statehouse, Pawlenty made official what's been known for months on Monday when he threw his hat in the ring for 2012. The two-term Minnesota governor declared that he would be the candidate who would tell voters the truth about what's needed to solve our country's fiscal issues.

"It's time for America's president — and anyone who wants to be president — to look you in the eye and tell you the truth," he said.

Pawlenty's speech makes clear that "truth" will be big part of his campaign theme — he mentioned it 16 times Monday according to his prepared remarks.

His campaign rollout this week has been calibrated to highlight the truth-teller theme: He said he's going to Florida to talk entitlement reform, New York to tell Wall Street no more bailouts, and Washington to say the federal workforce must be cut.

And in Iowa, Pawlenty said Monday that ethanol subsidies, as well as all other energy subsidies, must eventually be phased out.

"In my campaign, I'm going to take a different approach: I am going to tell you the truth," Pawlenty said. "The truth is, Washington, D.C., is broken."

Pawlenty has been preparing for a White House run since as early as 2009, which has included many stops in Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state. While his poll numbers have remained in single digits, Pawlenty hopes to emerge as the alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney, a task that became easier this month after several potential rivals like Mitch Daniels and Mike Huckabee opted not to run.

The former Minnesota governor hopes to make the case that his record of cutting spending in Minnesota puts him in a position to get federal spending and the debt under control.

Democrats say that Pawlenty's record is leaving Minnesota with a $5 billion deficit — which is being fought over today on the final day of the Minnesota legislative session. Ken Martin, the DFL chair, traveled to Des Moines on Monday for an event attacking Pawlenty.