PAWLENTY WATCH: Poll Shows Ex-Governor Runs Last in Michigan

While everyone’s eyes are on Iowa and the presidential straw poll it has coming up Saturday, many are looking at a future battleground, Michigan. Tim Pawlenty might not want to look. According to MinnPost, a new poll indicates that Pawlenty is running dead last in support in the Wolverine State, behind even U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, who joined the race barely a month ago.

The New York Times says a debate in Iowa tonight could be Pawlenty's "last big opportunity to sway large numbers of Iowa voters." He needs to be strong, the Times says, especially after the last debate. That's when "he declined to use his time on the stage to continue an attack on the health care legislation Mr. Romney passed while governor of Massachusetts. It made him look weak and indecisive," the publication stated.

Real Clear Politics says that Pawlenty is steering clear of criticizing Texas Gov. Rick Perry until he officially joins the presidential race, saying, “My candidacy, my message, doesn’t rise or fall as to whether somebody else does or doesn’t get in the race.” Presumably the gloves come off when Perry makes it official.

Politico is finding that a growing trend among commentators is to slice presidential candidates with the unkindest cut of all: Comparing them to Sarah Palin. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently referred to Pawlenty as “awesomely clueless” when it comes to economics, “making gross factual errors, demonstrating on repeated occasions that he doesn’t understand anything about monetary economics…as far as I can tell,” Krugman said, setting up the mega-zinger perfectly, “he’s Sarah Palin in a suit.”

I guess somebody had to say it: Tim Pawlenty has a thing about poop. The Atlantic Wire pointed out that on several occasions in a number of contexts, T-Paw has relied on scatological references to get his point across – everything from likening President Barack Obama to “a manure spreader” to depicting himself picking up his dog’s leavings during a passage in his book “Courage to Stand.” Maybe it would be fitting for Pawlenty to finish number two in the Iowa straw poll.