[techweenie]

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Pawlenty Says Party is "On the Ropes"

In an interview, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) "acknowledged that his party is 'on the ropes' nationally and that he would consider himself 'lucky to get reelected,'" the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "Pawlenty denied that he has any national political ambitions and downplayed the notion that Minnesota had trended Republican."

Pawlenty joked: "I hope voters are smart enough to know that I'm not involved in the Valerie Plame affair; I didn't leak the name of a covert agent."