Pawlenty 2012: Can a placebo win the presidency?

I saw Mr Pawlenty at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, where he tried to rile up the crowd by presenting himself as a god-loving, Obama-hating, tough-as-nails leader. He was not very believable as any of these things, but his inauthenticity seemed harmless, not a cause for distrust. He does not come off like a chameleon, as Mitt Romney did in 2008. It’s Mr Pawlenty’s shouting and aggressiveness that seems put on, not his conservatism. His anti-Obama barbs sound rehearsed and hollow, but there is no doubt that he disagrees with the president’s agenda. His rhetorical passion for religion is over the top, but he is an evangelical Christian. It’s his personality that he’s faking, not his platform.

And that may be just fine with Republican voters. If Mr Pawlenty’s conservative-for-all-seasons strategy is successful, he could come to be seen as a combination of his rivals—Romney, but not so slippery; Huckabee, but not so evangelical; Gingrich but not so aggressive; Daniels, but not so bookish; Palin, but not so scary. He’s no one’s perfect candidate, but he’s no one’s nightmare. He’s harmless, waiting for voters to find whatever value they will in him, and then be satisfied enough to give him their vote. A placebo.