Is definitely running for president, as evidenced by his latest campaign video:
A few thoughts. If the "time for truth" slogan is any indication, Pawlenty is clearly positioning himself as the anti-Mitt Romney candidate and trying to capitalize on conservative discomfort with Romney's willingness to "flip-flop" from previously held positions.
More broadly, with both Daniels and Huckabee out of the race, Pawlenty is the natural anti-Romney candidate; as a former governor, he has enough credibility to satisfy the elites looking for substance, and as a conservative evangelical with established pro-life bona fides, he doesn't alienate the Christian right.
Relatedly, Politico's Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin have a great take on Pawlenty's place within the GOP presidential race, as well as his efforts to bring donors to his side:
Pawlenty has already, aides said, been making regular calls to Daniels' would-be financial and political supporters, key among them Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. His central challenge for the year's second-quarter is to raise for the three-month period something in the ballpark of the $10 million Romney raised in a day. But a race paralyzed by fantasy candidates like Daniels had given underwhelmed donors a good excuse to keep their wallets closed. Pawlenty and the remaining members of the field can now make the case more convincingly that donors should stop dreaming about late entrants, and pick among the horses already out of the gate.
Pawlenty's greatest strength, according to Smith and Martin? "His lack of glaring flaws." It's far from a flattering assessment, but it's undoubtedly correct, and Pawlenty's status as the least offensive candidate could be his ticket to the nomination.
