Pawlenty campaign knocks Romney for skipping Iowa straw poll

Romney 2008 believed straw polls were essential. Romney 2012 disagrees.
 

Mitt Romney probably hoped to bury his decision to skip straw polls in Iowa, Florida, and Michigan by announcing it yesterday in the midst of Newt Gingrich's campaign implosion, but Tim Pawlenty isn't letting him off the hook. Yesterday, Pawlenty's campaign issued this statement from the chairman of his Iowa steering committee:

I joined Governor Pawlenty's campaign because I knew he could put his record before voters everywhere. The Ames straw poll is a great gathering of conservatives, and Governor Pawlenty's solid record will be well received there. I look forward to joining thousands of Iowans in casting my vote for Governor Pawlenty in Ames this summer and in the caucuses this winter.

The statement doesn't mention Romney by name, but coming after Romney's announcement, it was clearly aimed at knocking Romney's decision to skip the straw poll, a decision made less than two weeks after a Romney campaign swing through Iowa.

That campaign swing must not have gone well, because Romney 2008 said skipping the Ames straw poll wasn't an option:

If you can?t compete in Iowa in August .... how are you going to compete in November?

It's funny how quickly things change when you realize that even though you may lead the polls now, by the time the election comes around, you're going to get spanked.

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/rHI6Tnr0oWA/-Pawlenty-campaign-knocks-Romney-for-skipping-Iowa-straw-poll

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