Pawlenty loses MULLET hairdo

[Laura PourMeADrink]

(snipped for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/07/03/pawlenty/


Losing the mullet, angling for veep
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a shot at being John McCain's No. 2 -- and it's not just because of the snazzy new haircut.


SPEAKING OF hair::




By Mike Madden


Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaks to Republicans on behalf of John McCain during the Michigan GOP Convention in Grand Rapids on Feb. 10, 2007.

July 3, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been active in Republican circles for years -- as chairman of the National Governors Association, as the head of the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in Minnesota in 2004, as a vocal supporter of John McCain's campaign this time around. It didn't take long for people to start wondering if he was angling for a spot on McCain's ticket, and rumors spread that he was a top contender for the GOP's vice-presidential nomination.

But the real sign Pawlenty might be interested in being McCain's running mate came in a slightly subtler form late this spring: He cut his hair. Gone was the mullet he'd worn for years, even though Minnesota media outlets and political blogs mocked him for it. As Pawlenty hit the Sunday talk shows in May and June, he sported a trim new look. You might even call it vice-presidential.

What has Republicans buzzing about Pawlenty, though, isn't so much his hairstyle as his political style. He's won election twice in a key battleground state that the GOP has long dreamed of taking back at the presidential level, and that will host the Republican convention in September. He's young enough to balance out McCain's age, but experienced enough after two terms in office to claim he's been tested. Social conservatives like him; his pastor, the Rev. Leith Anderson, heads the National Association of Evangelicals. And week in and week out, as one of the McCain campaign's most visible surrogates on cable news, Pawlenty is proving he has no trouble delivering sharp lines against Barack Obama with a smile. (Like other potential McCain running mates, Pawlenty has issued bland denials that he's seeking the job, always leaving plenty of wiggle room in case he's asked.)

[TwilightGardener]

1. Mullet-Man reminds me of an appliance salesman for some reason.

[Cha]

4. I've never seen before this and my first impression is

"used car".

[catgirl]

10. Which one, McCain or Pawlenty?

He he.

[hisownpetard]

2. What about Virgil Goode, Repub from Virginia who is famous for being Muslimophobic? Then McCain's

possible choices would be Goode and Pawlenty.

[monmouth]

3. Does Garrison Keillor have an opinion? Things Minnesota I

look to see what Keillor thinks. He's so sane and funny at the same time.

[senseandsensibility]

5. Is that picture supposed to be the mullet?

Or is that the new do?

[Iris]

7. I was wondering the same thing. Either way, he still looks greasy.

[oldtime dfl_er]

6. I think he looks like

a televangelist. HEAL ME BABY!

[TwilightGardener]

8. Yeah, a little Joel Osteen-ish.

[saltpoint]

9. Well he sounds perfectly dreadful.

[my3boyz]

11. If that is his new haircut then I would hate to see the old one! nt