The Straight Talk Express hits Iowa with MN Governor Pawlenty in tow.

Is the Paw up for the VP spot on the McCain ticket? Pawlenty continues to be on the radar screen as an up and coming Governor with national appeal. While making alliances this early may have been premature, the Governor will be a player in the upcoming campaign no matter what.

Minnesota will be a state in play in 2008. Much will be happening here: The Republican convention in St. Paul will hopefully rally the base. Senator Coleman is already in the race of his life with Al "I'm good enough"Franken. (There are others in the race as well: Mike Ciresi the most notable. The Dems are drooling over this race.)

If Pawlenty is on the ticket, his appeal across party lines will help the Republicans. That is, he will be an asset if he continues to make sound decisions throughout this legislative session and the session next Spring. If he moves to the center (which is code for "moving to the left") he will lose his edge and undermine the hopes of others running in Minnesota.

Pawlenty must stand firm against the flood of taxes being proposed by Dems even as the state is swimming in a surplus. (proposals to raise taxes include increase income taxes on the "rich", increase the sales tax for a gazillion reasons, and increase taxes on just about everything under the sun including: liquor, telecommunications, light bulbs, hearses, hunters...) If Pawlenty wants to be a national player he must use the veto power to keep spending in check.

Pawlenty has the potential to turn this legislative session into a windfall for himself, and for conservatives, if he makes fiscally sound policy decisions. He must lead Republicans in working with the Democrats to come up with responsible solutions to the problems facing our state. Throwing money at problems makes Democrats feel better but it doesn't fix the underlying issues. Taxpayers, Republican and Democrat alike, won't vote for anyone who spends irresponsibly.

As an aside, some Minnesota Democrats expressed concern that the Governor was out campaigning with McCain last week while some Minnesotans were facing flood damage. Pawlenty did in fact tour the damaged areas on Friday.

This idea that our public officials, locally and nationally, must personally inspect every natural disaster site has gone too far. If the fear-mongering global warming crowd is right about the impending increase in natural disasters, these leaders are never going to be in their offices. Send in the underlings to take some telling pictures and provide the important information to those at the top. The Governor, or the President, wading through sludge doesn't help anyone get back on their feet.