Tim Pawlenty has a new campaign video out, in which he brings the Michael Bay treatment to his budget plan and attacks President Obama for the economy's slow growth and high unemployment:
It's notable that Pawlenty doesn't actually highlight anything substantive about his plan. Instead, he offers the usual collection of soundbites, cliches' about socialism, and paeans to America's exceptionalism. Of course, if I were Pawlenty, I wouldn't want to go into specifics either. In addition to dramatically slashing spending on entitlements and social welfare programs, his plan would cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans by more than 70 percent. This runs completely counter to the views of most Americans, who oppose cuts to entitlements and social welfare programs and support higher taxes on the rich.
In addition to touting the dynamic economic policies of the Bush administration, it's clear from the video that Pawlenty plans to lean on American exceptionalism as the theme of his campaign against President Obama. This remains a very odd choice; it was only last month that President Obama delivered the body of Osama bin Laden, and in the process, praised Americans for their ability to "get things done." Like any American president, Obama routinely uses his public pronouncements to praise the uniqueness of the United States. Insofar that Pawlenty's attack makes any sense, it's as a signaling device. It's a way to show the Republican base that Pawlenty understands the president as an "Other," even if he can't say so publicly.