Tim Pawlenty: The Movie

Forget the West Wing, T-Paw's going Hollywood

A A A Comments (2) Wednesday, Feb 2 2011

The magic of Hollywood knows no limit. It can even make Tim Pawlenty seem like a compelling figure for 90 seconds.

Matt Visionquest

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The erstwhile governor of Minnesota is on a book tour, or running for president, or something, but no one has really been paying attention because there hasn't been a thunderous Jerry Bruckheimer-style movie preview to make everyone sit up and take notice.

Until now.

The video starts with a dramatic aerial shot of clouds, as low, pensive strings create a musical atmosphere of grandeur and urgency.

"The United States of America is the most successful nation the world has ever known," intones the disembodied voice of Tim Pawlenty, as the screen jumps in quick succession to shots of the Lincoln Memorial, Cassius Clay, victorious WWII-era sailors, and the Berlin Wall coming down.

Eight seconds in, we're already aware that we are in for a dizzying assault of epic imagery.

Quickly the pace escalates. The music becomes more urgent, and rumbles of subwoofer-maximized percussion start randomly punctuating the proceedings. The clips are coming faster and more furiously: Pawlenty striding purposefully through a West Wing-like hallway; Pawlenty on TV giving a speech; reporters and schoolkids paying rapt attention to what Pawlenty has to say.

Old glory! Fighter planes! A bunch of wholesome and optimistic-looking white people!

As the video builds to a deafening orgasm of momentousness, Pawlenty says, "This is about rolling up our sleeves. Me and you are gonna have some differences, but as Americans putting our heads down and getting it done."

If Pawlenty can run the rest of his campaign in full Dolby Surround Sound, he's got a solid shot at breaking into double digits by Election Day.

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