Pawlenty, Palin take different routes toward same destination

Minnesota's governor and Alaska's former governor may have the same aspirations, but the two are taking very different steps to get there.

Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin both are mentioned often as possible Republican candidates for president in 2012.  But while Pawlenty finishes his second term, after announcing ion June that he wouldn't seek a third, Palin quit her first term a year and a half before it was supposed to end.

"Some still are choosing not to hear why I made the decision to chart a new course to advance the state," Palin said Sunday, explaining that she doesn't believe she needs the title "governor" next to her name to be effective.

Meanwhile, Pawlenty is using his job, as governor, as a platform to get more people to recognize his name.

On Monday, Gov. Pawlenty was appointed second in command at the Republican Governors Association.  His high-profile position as vice chairman allows him to tour the country and help other Republican gubernatorial candidates seek election.

"What he's really doing, at this point, is almost running as the anti-Palin candidate," said Hamline University professor David Schultz.

Not one to speak publicly about his ambitions, Pawlenty said he simply is filling a void left when South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford stepped down from the governors association after admitting he had an affair.

"The side effects, or the speculation of all that, I can't weigh or measure," Pawlenty said Monday.  "All I know is that they asked me to do it, I'm willing to help, and so as a volunteer, I'm willing to fill out that vice chairmanship until the end of the term."

Schultz said this new role gives Pawlenty a louder voice

"It also ups the chance that he can be on national talk shows and can get invited to lots of different places across the country," Schultz said.

Pawlenty is stepping up, as some have observed, as Sarah Palin steps down.

And for Pawlenty, the stage gets bigger from here.  Later this week, he will deliver a speech at the Republican National Committee summer meeting in San Diego.

It's being viewed as a kind of try-out for the governor as his party looks for future national leaders.

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