Join Us At the Picnic 2.5

I'm not sure whether everyone reads comments, but there have been some excellent ones here lately. In particular, I didn't want anyone to miss these two about Pawlenty and Iowa; go back to the item for their full comments, which I agree with completely and are definitely worth reading in full.

Here's Dave Hopkins:

3) Ambinder presents the possibility of *both* Huckabee and Palin running in 2012 as a reason for Pawlenty to skip Iowa. This seems backwards to me. Even if Pawlenty were not beloved by conservative activists, the presence of both candidates would presumably divide the right-wing vote, making a Pawlenty victory *more* likely than if only one of them ran.

4) He's the governor of a neighboring state. How can he justify skipping Iowa to the press and his supporters elsewhere? Where is he likely to do well, if not in his own backyard?

And here's Josh Putnam:

Skipping Iowa is suicide for Pawlenty or anyone else running in 2012. McCain didn't skip Iowa in 2008 so much as he focused his meager resources at the time on New Hampshire. Expectations were so low that he actually exceeded them by finishing fourth. So I don't count McCain as having skipped Iowa.

Again, I recommend the full comments, found here.