A tale of two Pawlentys

Nearly six years later, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty is being lauded for his handling of the state government shutdown as he now gets ready to announce his candidacy for president. But as with most things, one version of events may not exactly match another. On Tuesday, the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin took note of Pawlenty's role in the 2005 partial shutdown of state government and quoted from Pawlenty's new book, "Courage To Stand." Under the headline, "Tim Pawlenty: Nice guy with a tough record?", Rubin wrote that "Pawlenty prevailed on much of his agenda [during the shutdown]." She added: "Pawlenty explains [in his new book] that the state was facing a $4 billion deficit, which the Democratic-controlled state senate wanted to fill with a tax hike. Pawlenty refused." Then there is this – a little-known email from a Pawlenty staff member in the days leading up to the state government shutdown as the governor negotiated with DFL legislative leaders. "We are working on a variety of offers – some re-packaging of old things and some possible innovative ideas," wrote Sara Schlauderaff, an aide to the governor. "Wondering if there is stuff we can suggest that looks great but doesn't have much to it."