Both of the newspapers in the nation's capital turned their eyes toward Minnesota this week in pieces handicapping the slowly-congealing 2012 presidential race.
The Washington Post assessed the chances of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has finally confirmed that, yep, he's (probably) running, while the Washington Times took a look at Rep. Michele Bachmann, who hasn't said any such thing -- yet.
The Post's Chris Cillizza's piece carries the headline "The Case for Tim Pawlenty" and concludes:
It's a fairly positive take on Pawlenty's prospects and can be read here.
Bachmann rated a fullblown profile in the Times, which focuses more on her growing profile in the House and role, as the piece puts it, of "darling" of Tea Partiers. Money quote about her prospects in the Iowa caucuses, widely seen as Bachmann's best shot next year:
Here's the full profile. UPDATE: A new poll by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday shows that neither Bachmann nor Pawlenty has exactly caught fire with the GOP base. The poll shows that Pawlenty is supported by just 3 percent of Republican registered voters, while Bachmann didn't even make the cut.
