Pawlenty gains heavyweight support

The formal rollout of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's GOP presidential bid may have gotten decidedly mixed reviews (pundits said his prescription on federal spending is either brilliant or a joke), but his newborn campaign snagged some heavyweight help last week.

Pawlenty, currently regarded as one of the heavyweights in the still-amorphous race, can point to some significant endorsements in recent days.

The congressman known for yelling "you lie!" at President Obama is endorsing the presidential candidate who pledges to "tell the truth."

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, who became famous in 2009, after yelling out during the president's health care address to Congress, lined up with Pawlenty's campaign.

Wilson also will serve as Pawlenty's co-chair in South Carolina, one of the four early primary states.

Wilson, who is popular among conservatives in his state, will help bolster Pawlenty's Tea Party credentials there. Pawlenty's Freedom First political committee gave Wilson $2,000 in the 2010 campaign, and he cut an endorsement video for Wilson.

Pawlenty also drew the support of former General Electric Chairman and CEO Jack Welch, who swooned over the former Minnesota governor in an appearance Wednesday night on CNN's Piers Morgan show.

Welch: " If you asked me that a month ago, I would have said, well, Mitt Romney might be best guy, et cetera. The most obvious guy. But everything I see Tim Pawlenty say in the last month appeals to me. He's not the jazziest guy in town. He's not the most exciting. But if you look at what he says and his vision for America and that plan he put out in the last 48 hours. Every time I see him on an interview, whether it be your show or somebody else's, the guy makes sense."

Finally, as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's presidential bid imploded last week, Pawlenty announced that he had snagged former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as a supporter.

Until last week, Perdue had been Gingrich's national campaign co-chair.

The former Minnesota governor might have had the inside track with Perdue. Pawlenty's presidential campaign manager, Nick Ayers, was a close Perdue aide for years, helping him win two elections in Georgia.