Ames, Iowa (CNN) - Likely Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty waded into international waters Tuesday with sharp criticism of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
"We got a situation, we got a confirmed terrorist, sociopathic killer Moammar Gadhafi, mowing down his own people who are trying to bring forward their view of liberty and freedom," Pawlenty told reporters following remarks to the Iowa State University College Republicans in Ames.
The former Minnesota governor said a no-fly zone over the volatile country would be a "good thing for the United States to do," as some leading senators have suggested.
Pawlenty, who appeared Monday night alongside four other potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates at a forum sponsored by the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, said he would make a decision about formally entering the presidential race in a "few weeks or less."
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"mowing down his own people who are trying to bring forward their view of liberty and freedom,"
YOU ARE DOING THE SAME OR WANT TO DO THE SAME IN THIS COUNTRY.
Yawn. Queue the GOP's astroturf armchair generals saying that we should be doing the opposite of whatever Obama is doing about Libya in 3...2...1...
Seriously. If there was a no fly zone already, they'd be saying we shouldn't have done it. If he was sending in thousands of troops, they'd be saying we shouldn't do that. If he refuses to send in troops, they'll say we should've given them more manpower. If we do (or don't) send them weapons, they'll say we shouldn't have (or should have). It's as predictable as our own eventual revolt if the wealth gap keeps growing and the ultra-rich and corporations keep hording all the wealth and assets in this country. History repeats...
"We got a situation, we got a confirmed terrorist, sociopathic killer Moammar Gadhafi, mowing down his own people who are trying to bring forward their view of liberty and freedom,"
Just like your [R] party. That's why I as a moderate vote for a democrat.
Well Mr. Pawlenty, now that you've established that point you should stop talking, strap an M-16 to your shoulder and go to Libya to fight for your convictions...
Typical Republican response. Shoot from the hip first, ask questions later. Why would the no-fly zone be a good thing for us? Explain that Pawlenty. Like I'm gonna trust a guy who failed his own state. Go away. And take Gingrich, Bachman, Palin, Romney, and the rest of the hypocrites with you.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Instead of a no fly zone why don't you take yourself and all the clowns from the party of NO running for president and have trump fly you over on his private jet so you can talk to the sociopath in Lybia. You have a couple of those already in your camp . . . The AK quitter, the revolutionary from MN (both of you). Actuslly you all have some screw lose in your heads anyway! Seems none of you, whether employed by faux news or in congress have anything better to do!
Inflated Buffoon.
Well, its probably true but its hard to tell ,coming out of Pawlenty's mouth. Pawlenty is a sociopath himself and a compulsive liar.
He think's the statement about Gadhafi being a sociopath makes him sound internationally knowledgeable and needs to let the voters know just how smart he is. Gosh, hasn't all the media been saying these very words for weeks? At least he reads the newspapers and keeps up with the latest world news, unlike McCain's running mate. Without her hand, she was lost.
We don't need to resort to calling people names regardless of what we think of them. Gadhafi may be all of those things but what message does it send to others in the Middle East when we are trying to build bridges with the Muslim communities who already distrust us. We as Americans need to tone it down if we ever expect to seek peace around the world.
By what measure does the USA decide which group of people we defend? By what measure is the USA entitled to intervene in other countries civil problems? Pawlenty, like many simple-minded repugs ( and some dems), has simple answers (generally, whatever President Obama does is wrong).
Our government should press the UN, and NATO, and more specifically our European allies, who are more directly effected, to take action. We have enough on our hands already. Let's wean the world off of the US solving (or not solving, even when we try to) everyone's problems.
I don't understand why these maybe, maybe not, candidates get up there and try and tell the international community (and the POTUS) what they should and shouldn't do based on what little information they could have. They are not in a position to be privy to ALL the information the world leaders have, so they need to let the leaders do their job. This whole "no fly zone" thing is not something that the US can all of a sudden implement. Yes, what is going on in Lybia is horrendous and has to be stopped. No one is arguing that. But the United States can not just go around the world and tell other countries what to do. There would need to be an international concensus of other countries and their leaders for something of this magnitude. It is so easy to just blurt out a sound-bite (Ms. Palin's forte) but to actually implement such a thing is a whole different story.
Thank God these idiots are not in power. They would get us in so much trouble with the rest of the world, Americans would not be safe to travel any where outside their borders.
Boys in Iowa, why don't you leave the handling of the world matters to those who have the full details and information to properly address them. You should be more worried about what you Tea Party is doing to this Nation. How about a "no stupid remark" zone here in the United States. Oh, yea, freedom of speech. . . I guess that is why we have to listen to your idiotic remarks over and over. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The former Minnesota governor said a no-fly zone over the volatile country would be a "good thing for the United States to do," as some leading senators have suggested.
Lets go with the military and the President on this one, and leave the presidential candidates to the pep rallies and reality shows.This is extremely important business where we do not need candidates offering opinions when they are not privy to the behind closed doors security information that invloves many countries.If Pawlenty wants to show leadership he will respect the negotiations that are going on with the correct authorities and keep his opinion to himself.
Pawlenty could not find Libya on a map if he had to
Go crawl back i the hole in South St. Paul, MN where you belong – loser
Funny, he wasn't on Gadhafi's case prior to this. Another political opportunist and arm-chair psychiatrist too.
Very presidential. Nothing like showing a level head in a time of international crisis.
put this idiot in Libya and come back....this idiot does not know where is Libya either....Tim, you are big idiot in the world.....o.k.
we all know that, but no more wars....we have our problems....o.k. idiot..
North Korea has been run by a sociopath, Communist (or his relatives) for over 50 years, starving his people to death; should we also go after them, Mr. Pawlenty?
Talk is cheap ...
Hey there, Mr. Greedy Old Pawlenty, if you want to see what a sociopath looks like up close start taking pictures at your CPAC and Koch brothers' meetings.
"We got..." - We got? What we got here is a failure to communicate. Dumbing down your speeches is offensive to those bright enough to catch it.
Of all republican guys', this one I actually think is ok. I don't know about him as a president but, he's ok nonetheless.
Look at me! Hey, look at me! My name is Tim and I will continue to stand in front of an American flag wherever and whenever it is necessary and say ridiculous things until you look at me. I mean it. I have a thesaurus here and I'm not afraid to use it.
It's always easy to talk tough and make rash judgements when you're standing on the sidelines.
Who is this beanhead? So let's see...we're paying for 2 wars now on our Chinese credit card and this idiot wants to add a 3rd? And anyone with a smidgen of a brain is supposed to believe he's serious about debt reductions. Another Republican joke.