>>>
the annual
conservative political action conference
better known as cpac gets under way in
washington
today, and it features a who's-who of presidential contenders, including governor
tim pawlenty
. good morning.
>>
good morning to you, meredith.
>>
you have made it clear that you're seriously considering running. you've said you'll make up your mind between now and maybe march, april. but at this point, what would keep you from running?
>>
my wife.
>>
she has an interest. is she saying don't do it?
>>
i'm just teasing. it comes down to what are the needs of the country and what do i bring to that? secondly, it is a deeply personal decision. my wife is fully supportive. i love her very much. it is a burden on a family.
>>
what would keep you from running? if she supports you and you know what you need to do --
>>
we're just making sure we've got everything in line, get the ducks in a row. that's not an easy thing to do. there's a lot of work there. we've been working for conservative candidates and we'll finalize the decision in the last month or so.
>>
okay. here's the wrap of t. paw, as you friends call you. how are you going to emerge from behind those headline-grabbers?
>>
a number of things. people are probably tired of the hype and the big speeches filled with false promises. i've got a record of delivering the product and the goods.
>>
you think those three are making false promises?
>>
no, i'm just -- we elected a president who had soaring rhetoric and a lot of great speeches. a lot of people are disappointed in his performance. if you look at my record as governor, when you look at reforming schools, market-based
health care
and the rest, i've actually done all of that.
>>
again, how do youo yo you emerge from behind the people with
star quality
?
>>
i think as people get to know me, i get support. i got elected and reelected in the most liberal state in the country as a republican. so as
frank sinatra
would say, if you can do it there, you can do it anywhere.
>>
you're a
fiscal conservative
. you criticize the president after his
state of the union address
. you called him a chicken. that's the word you used, for failing to address real fiscal issues in this country. your successor in minnesota, governor
mark dayton
, has criticized you for leaving a $6.2 billion deficit. last night in his
state of the state address
, he said that he was left with a horrendous fiscal mess and
state agencies
poorly managed. so what makes you better-equipped to run the nation's economy, if you left your own house in such disarray?
>>
well, 49 of the
50 states
have a
budget deficit
. so if the disqualifier is any governor with a
budget deficit
, no governor could run. it's the worst economic collapse since
world war ii
. as to governor dayton, and any other governor facing those challenges, that assumes, by the way, the deficit in minnesota, a 27% increase in spending. that's the forecasted increase in spending. that's preposterous. i could take care of that deficit as i did for my eight years as fgovernor and he should, too. outside groups have looked at all of this. i'm one of four governors in the gree that got an "a" fwrad for the best
fiscal discipline
and management.
>>
finally,
tea party
supporters in
washington
put a lot of pressure on their republican leadership to make even more severe budget cuts in the leadership. they may be trying to run the agenda in
washington
. you are emerging as a republican leader. how would you reconcile those two sides of the party?
>>
first, reducing
government spending
and dealing with the deficit and the debt is now mainstream. so the fact that the
tea party
and others are pushing for more cuts, deeper cuts, faster reform, that's a good thing, meredith. i don't discount that. i applaud it.
>>
okay, governor pawlenty. thanks so much. do you want to make an announcement while we get you here? get it over with?
>>
absolutely. just kidding.
>>
you're not going to squirm out of this one. here's matt.
>>
careful, governor.
“ ”