P.M. Carpenter's guess:
[Pawlenty] has quietly conceded the race, and is already looking forward to Mitt Romney's call about the Number Two slot. Meanwhile he'll be a good, obedient little puppy dog on the campaign trail.
A reader adds to this post:
At the end of the debate last night, something kept gnawing at me. I'm a Republican voter who was pretty content with the '08 field (I backed McCain; please don't mention Palin, it still smarts). This year's crop just seemed so formulaic, so full of GOP bromides. The missing element, I think, is the McCain/Huckabee factor.
I'm certainly no fan of Huckabee's theocratic tendencies, but he and McCain performed the task of reminding the other candidates that in their collective and admirable desire to cut government, secure the borders, etc., actual – and frequently innocent – human lives are caught in the balance.
I'll cop to tearing up when McCain reminded his colleagues – which much disappointment evident in his voice – that Mexican immigrants are God's children too, and worthy of our consideration and respect. Huckabee, likewise, cautioned the candidates that in the process of affecting immigration reform, we needn't grind our heels in the faces of innocent children. This perspective, this sensitivity to the suffering of others, was absent from the stage yesterday. McCain and Huckabee are flawed men and were flawed candidates, but they were brave enough to expose themselves to at least a bit of political risk in order to ask for some kindness for the less fortunate. To my great disappointment, I don't see that willingness in the '12 crowd.
(Word cloud from the New Tasman.)
The Dish 