By Bob von Sternberg
A new CNN poll, released today, shows that if Gov. Tim Pawlenty really does want to run for president in 2012, he's got some serious work to do in wooing the Republican base.
The poll found that only 5 percent of self-identified GOPers would support him for the party's nomination -- the same number that say they support "no one."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the frontrunner, with 32 percent support, followed, in order, by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Pawlenty, who isn't saying what his plans are, also lags in the name-recognition sweepstakes among the presumed GOP field. Just 15 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of him, while 13 percent have an unfavorable take. The other 72 percent haven't heard of him or registered no opinion.
Amoing the oithers, Palin remains the most polarizing: 42 percent have a favorable opinion of her, while 51 percent see her unfavorably.
The poll, conducted Oct. 16-18 among 1,038 Americans, has an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points; among the Republicans polled, the error margin is 4.5 percentage points.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, in a tribute to his (slowly) rising national profile, Pawlenty was gigged this morning by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, calling him a "nerdy potential 2012 rival" to President Obama.She also called him "the Terror from Minnesota," a reference to his criticism of what he last week called Obama's "projecting national weakness" on national security policy.
