On his weekly radio show Friday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty spent most of his time talking about high taxes and higher education, but detoured to weigh in on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks at the United Nations the day before.

Cutting to the chase, he called Ahmadinejad a "nutjob" for claiming that the United States orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks, comments that prompted at least 33 delegations, including the U.S., to walk out of the General Assembly. But, Pawlenty complained, most delegations "stayed there and listened to this nutjob."

Shortly before Pawlenty's pronouncement, President Obama (who Pawlenty may try to take on in 2012) was speaking to the BBC's Persian service about Ahmadinejad's remarks. He called them "hateful," "offensive" and "inexcusable."