Evan Bayh points out Pawlenty was "skeptical" about 'the surge'

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Ya don't say! Tim Pawlenty (Who?) on record "skeptical" of "McCain's" troop surge... now how can McCain "Mr. Surge himself" have a running mate on record "skeptical" about the surge...

From Star Tribune Political blog:

Facing Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty appeared to be caught a little flat-footed when Bayh made known he had done a little research of his own on the Minnesota governor.

Bayh, considered a candidate for Democrat Barack Obama’s vice president, reminded Pawlenty, considered a candidate for Republican McCain’s vice president, that Pawlenty had expressed his own doubt about the surge in Iraq, quoting Pawlenty’s “hometown newspaper.”

That hometown newspaper, of course, was The Star Tribune, in a Jan. 12, 2007 story about the extension of the deployment in Iraq of Minnesota National Guard troops.

>>> Gov. Tim Pawlenty and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, both Republicans who have generally supported Bush, expressed disappointment about the extension. Pawlenty said he wonders if the surge of troops will accomplish its purpose. “I am skeptical about the surge because it’s belated.

More from Am. Spectator blog:

T-Paw against the surge:

I missed this, but Chris Cilizza caught it: After Pawlenty attacked Obama for standing by his opposition to the surge, Bayh responded incredulously: "Tim, you opposed the surge....I read about it in your hometown newspaper." Pawlenty was rocked back on his heels, noting that he had said at the time that he was "skeptical" of the surge.

To me, this should disqualify Pawlenty. It steps all over one of McCain's key talking points. If McCain thinks he has settled on T-Paw, well, there's a line from a song in the movie Oliver: I think he better think it out again!

Rich Lowry at National Review said this about McCain and the surge:

McCain’s comeback has been fueled by the success of the infusion of troops into Iraq that he was supporting long before anyone had thought to call it “the surge.” In his early and fierce advocacy of the surge, McCain did far more to advance the war on terror than any other candidate. It showed keen strategic intuition and put in the best possible light characteristic McCain qualities, especially a cussed willingness to forge his own path.

McCain has used it to highlight his foreign-policy and military experience and his truth-telling courage. The surge has been a character issue for McCain...

For the record:

Romney immediately and publicly supported the troop surge when President Bush announced it on Jan. 10, 2007. Seven months later, Romney announced a push to give extra support to the soldiers participating in the surge.