Poor T-Paw -- By William Kristol, The Weekly Standard

Campaigns are populated by hacks and trade in cheap shots. But the hacks are usually paid staffers, and the cheap shots are part of their job description. It's sad to see a respected former governor reduced to low-level staff hackery, acting as an attack dog on behalf of a man he once criticized ("Obamneycare") and now supports.

Here's Tim Pawlenty today, as a Mitt Romney campaign surrogate, on a conference call criticizing former senator Rick Santorum for . . . having voted to raise the debt ceiling: "He voted numerous times to raise the debt ceiling and here we as a nation facing fiscal crisis, I mean literally on the edge of the fiscal abyss. We need a next president who’s been strong and proven in fiscal and spending matters, and we had Rick Santorum voting numerous times to raise the debt ceiling." (The quotation is from the Romney press shop’s transcript.)

Here's a question: Did either Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney speak out at the time against any of the debt ceiling hikes Rick Santorum voted for as a member of Congress?

And here's a thought: Perhaps the Romney campaign could stop abusing poor Tim Pawlenty?

CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE Sphere: Related Content