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The Spectacle Blog
Tim Pawlenty, assumed candidate for the 2012 GOP nomination, has released excerpts from his upcoming book that detail his experiences working at a meat plant with his dad when he was 12, and you may want to hold your noses:
The “side job” included yanking meat hooks from large wooden bins that were stashed in a couple of truck trailers on the lot. Tangled meat hooks that once held whole sides of beef were tossed in those bins, in trucks without Thermo Kings to cool down their trailers. Hundreds of thick, heavy meat hooks, covered with discarded raw remnants of sinew and fat, all rotting in the blistering heat. It was up to my dad and me to pull out every one of those hooks and hang them up – presumably to be power-washed and used again.
Have you ever opened up an expired or rotting pack of hamburger from the bottom of your refrigerator and given it a big whiff? Yeah. Multiply that times a thousand, and you’ll get the idea. You could smell that rotting meat as soon as we opened the doors of those trailers. Then, when we hopped up there, we could hear the buzzing. My dad reached in and grabbed the first hook, and I held my breath and leaned in through a swarm of flies to grab mine – and I lost it. I tossed my cookies next to one of the bins, only adding to the mess and the stench.
He goes on to describe how he and his dad persevered and finished, teaching him a lesson that he applies to the political arena, “when a job needs doing, get it done. Plow through; never give up. Keep moving forward. When it’s right, when it’s necessary, just do it.”
Assuming he runs, Pawlenty will likely try to highlight his working class roots and underdog status, which Mike Huckabee exploited to perfection in Iowa in 2008 to contrast himself with the privliged upbringing of Mitt Romney.
View all comments (11) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Philip Klein
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/12/10/meat-tim-pawlenty
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martin j smith| 12.10.10 @ 11:41AM
This may be true of any Repub presidential candidate but Tom Pawlenty will have to not imitate John MacC:
He should have a clear and articulated view of how the natio its economy and our national security should be led.
he should be capable in a gentlemanly and forceful manner criticize Obama's polcies in all areas from the economy to national defense and be capable of swatting away the "racism" accusations . And, most importantly he must connect with as many people as possible in the nation--even those who disagree with him.
ncatty| 12.10.10 @ 11:45AM
Let's hope his mother taught him to wash his hands.
ggoblue| 12.10.10 @ 12:56PM
is he done chasing windmills with al gore?
i seem to remember him bending over for the leftist scam known as global warming.
Sean| 12.10.10 @ 1:17PM
You remember correctly. That alone disqualifies him for the Presidency in my book.
Occam's Tool| 12.10.10 @ 2:02PM
Sorry. Tim just doesn't have IT. Reagan did, Sarah may.
jgo| 12.10.10 @ 3:06PM
Pawlenty's no national security/ amnesty/open border/ more visas on top of the 90 times too many they've already been issuing positions are unacceptable.
Occam's Tool| 12.10.10 @ 9:38PM
Don't forget the unforgivable pardon.
wholesale handbagboots | 12.11.10 @ 1:10AM
Thanks for sharing your article. I really enjoyed it.
manonthestreet| 12.11.10 @ 5:30PM
Tim has been running for POTUS for the last year.He just don't have the ump,I like Sarah.
Steve in Pittsburgh| 12.11.10 @ 7:04PM
I nominate Bobby Jindal.
Only drawback is he took TARP funds. But all candidates have a reason to not nominate them.
Sarah Palin (whom I otherwise like) wasn't in office long enough; Bobby Jindal has been.
Occam's Tool| 12.11.10 @ 11:21PM
Jindal is patriotic, smart, decisive, and a good policy wonk. He would be an excellent choice.