Live, from Minneapolis -- it's Tim Pawlenty

The governor, filling in on 'CCO's midday show, tackled a variety of topics, but most callers wanted to discuss policy issues.

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: March 2, 2009 - 8:52 PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is taking a break from his day job this week, filling in as an afternoon talk-show host on WCCO Radio.

Having cut his broadcast teeth with his weekly one-hour Friday morning stint on WCCO, Pawlenty is taking on a full three-hour show, a station spokesman said.

He's filling in on "Midday Live," a program that currently lacks a permanent host. According to Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung, station officials approached the governor about the fill-in gig. Pawlenty is not being paid for his appearances, McClung said.

On his usual weekly show, Pawlenty is casually gubernatorial, touting policies and fielding calls from constituents. On Monday, he was every bit the conventional talk-show host, interviewing subjects ranging from book-hawking authors to the station's own reporters (something of a role reversal for him).

Pawlenty didn't make any news. But listeners kept dragging him back to policy issues.

Asked about the $787 billion federal stimulus package, Pawlenty renewed his criticism of it, telling one caller, "The federal government is spending money they don't have."

Today, Pawlenty will take to the air just hours after his administration releases a new economic forecast for the state that is expected to show an already-massive budget deficit getting worse. Pawlenty telegraphed the bad news Monday, repeating his call for budget cuts without raising taxes: "Everyone's having to tighten their belts, families, households. Government's the same," he said.

The hometown radio gig was a contrast to Pawlenty's weekend appearance at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., where he found himself back in the mix of presidential politics -- in which he spent much of 2008.

If Pawlenty harbors hopes for a presidential run in 2012 (he's not saying), he suffered something of a setback at the conference, a mainstay of the Republican Party's conservative base.

In a straw poll of potential GOP candidates conducted Saturday Pawlenty attracted only 2 percent of the vote.

The straw poll, drawn from 1,757 participants at the 36th annual conference, wasn't scientific or perfectly representative of the GOP base.

During an appearance at Saturday's session of the conference, Pawlenty regaled the conservative crowd with taunts at Democrats.

According to a transcript of his speech, he accused Democrats of being pro-jobs but anti-business. "That's like being pro-egg but anti-chicken," Pawlenty said.

Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184

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