Tim Pawlenty: Conservative Populist

The Weekly Standard profiles Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and finds his "Sam's Club conservatism" attractive.  This article reminds me of why I was first attracted to George W. Bush in 1999.  Bush articulated a "compassionate conservatism" that moved beyond the stale and uninspiring anti-government rhetoric coming from congressional Republicans in the 1990s.  As president Bush has been distracted by foreign policy and has not done much with the "compassionate conservative" agenda, and the incompetence of his administration has long turned me off to Bush as an inspiring leader.  I have grown to doubt whether the pathological government bureaucracy can actually be used to further conservative ends, but it might prove interesting to see Tim Pawlenty try.