After choosing Des Moines as his backdrop for officially announcing he's running for president, Republican Tim Pawlenty pitched himself as a truth-telling straight-talker who would slash spending.
That means trimming Social Security spending and gradually eliminating ethanol subsidies, he said.
"The hard truth is that there are no longer any sacred programs," said Pawlenty, 50, the governor of Minnesota for the past eight years. "Conventional wisdom says you can't talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street. But someone has to say it."
Iowa Republicans interviewed at the event Monday said they've warmed to Pawlenty's tough message, his friendly persona, his witty one-liners and the folksy way he drops g's when he's talkin.'
[...]
Complete article at Des Moines Register : http://bit.ly/k1NimI
