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Pawlenty for President

"A Time for Truth" (Preview of Monday's Announcement) +
2:15 web video posted May 22, 2011.

[Typing SFX, Music Starts] Pawlenty: I could give a speech and tell you I was running for president.

I could have a podium with my campaign logo on it.

I could have balloons.  Red ones, white ones and blue ones.

I could pass out stickers and cupcakes.

I could promise that we can eliminate a $14 trillion debt, create jobs for 10 million people, restructure Social Security and health care, all without making any tough decisions.

Or, I could try something different.  I could just tell you the truth.

The truth is our country's in big trouble.  We have far too much debt, too much government spending, and too few jobs.

We need a president who understands that our problems are deep and who has the courage to face them.

President Obama doesn't.  I do. 

Tomorrow, my first campaign stop will be in Iowa, and that's where I'm going to begin a campaign that tells the American people the truth.

[Music up tempo] I'm Tim Pawlenty and I'm running for President of the United States.

I believe with all my heart that the challenges we face can be overcome.

I grew up in a blue collar town.  My dad worked as a truck driver.  My mom died when I was a teenager.  And I was the first in our family to graduate from college. 

As Governor of Minnesota, I moved a Democratic state in a conservative direction.

I know the American Dream because I lived it.  And I know for it to be there for the next generation we're going to have to do more than give fancy speeches.  We've had three years of that, and it's not working. 

Join me tomorrow, and around the country in the days and weeks ahead.  You won't hear empty promises, you'll hear solutions.  Together, we'll change our country, and this time, it'll be for the better.

Notes: The black and white footage of Pawlenty talking to the camera gives this video, the first from the campaign, a somewhat more reflective tone than earlier Pawlenty videos.  Nonetheless it is still a bit over the top with a lot of short clips and the up tempo music in the second part almost as loud as Pawlenty's voice.  The rhetoric at the opening sounds nice, but the Iowa Democratic Party pointed out the next day that Pawlenty did have a podium with his campaign logo on it for his announcement (+).