opinion

I certainly do not agree with Pawlenty on everything, but Arne Carlson is the Jimmy Carter of Minnesota governors. Having done a poor job himself, he seeks to redeem himself by dispensing his "wisdom" about his successors. This was the guy who pulled out all the stops (including a pep band welcome at the airport) when McKinley Boston threatened to leave the U of M as AD by taking an interviewing trip to Arizona. We all know what kind of athletic department Mr. Boston presided over. Arne is not a good judge of talent.

You were a perfectly horrid governor and certainly not a Republican. Are you embarrassed that you are a tool for the DFL? Your latest clue should have been the praise from Sturdevant.

And that would be to follow in the footsteps of the former governor of Alaska and resign the office. They could then stump the country together and try to gain traction from the RNC to lead a 'dream ticket' for President in the 2012 election. I can see it now; a Palin/Pawlenty ticket. The Republican bases dream ticket of dumb and dumber.

The Jimmy Carter of Minnesota. Yes. Exactly. Arne, just go away.

I would take that as a great compliment. To see what Carter has done with his life since he was President is inspiring. His work with Habitat for Humanity, Nobel Peace Prize winner, democracy advocate, respected diplomat, Sunday school teacher, loving father and husband - all qualities that any person, politician or not should admire.

didn't leave a massive tab for the next governor to pick up. I guess being responsible is out of fashion with the Tea Party crowd.

criticize democrats over their out of control spending as part of the budget problem though, thoughtful ARNE

Imkirok- you forgot to mention anti-semite, race baiter, and political hack. Of course his humanity work is admirible but his political career is one of the greatest debacle of all time. As for Carlson- greatest Monday morning QB of all time. Whenever you need to be lectured- Just call Arnie. Arnie never solved a budget problem pre-emptively like he now suggests. Only a budget deadline can force democrats and conservatives to hammer out a compromise- Arnie knows this and he is just lecturing.

And that's the problem. He is intellegent enough to understand state budgeting and to know that temporary fixes are not sustainable in the long term. And he's also smart enough to know that if he worked together with DFLers and put everything on the table (including unpopular spending cuts and yes tax increases) he would be out of any chance of a presidential nomination from a party that has gone from the party of Lincoln to the party of Limbaugh. It really is too bad. Minnesota has a great tradition of bipartisanship that has kept us fiscally healthier than other states with higher performnig schools, safer streets, etc... because people could put aside their partisan wagons at the capitol door, at least when it came to important matters like protecting our fiscal solvency while making critical investments in education, infrastructure, etc... I hope just one of the Republicans who's running for governor wants to bring that back.

First, you couldn't be more incorrect in your assessment of Carlson's terms as governor. He was an outstanding governor and Pawlenty should have been taking notes while watching Carlson instead of Ventura. Next, if you recall, Carlson didn't get the endorsement of the precious Republican party for either of his terms. In 1990 they chose to endorse Jon Grunseth and Carlson only got on the ballot after Grunseth withdrew from the race in disgrace only days before the election. In 1994, after a successful first term as governor again the Republicans refused to endorse Carlson and instead endorsed Allen Quist (Huh? WHO??!!) leaving a successful Gov. Carlson to have to defeat a challenger in a primary election. So, try and remember that the Repubs tossed Carlson under the bus long before he ditched them and think about how bad that party looks for trying to mess with success instead of looking to Carlson for calm, confident, astute leadership. The treatment Carlson received from his own party is probably the single biggest reason why I'll never vote for a Republican again.