Scott Gillespie: Pawlenty vs. Palin, an outdoors duel
Hooked on Palin's Alaska, one Minnesotan wonders when our departing-Guv may take a shot at TV stardom.
Tim and Mary Pawlenty
Scott Gillespie
I'm hooked, Sarah. Your new reality TV show is just what I need to make it through one of our endless winters.
I'd rather watch you shoot and butcher a caribou than read Maureen Dowd any day.SEE! I am not the only one!
It's been a treat to get to know your family a little better.
I'm still a little worried about Willow's boyfriend -- the one who jumped the pet gate you had set up to keep him away from her room. He looks a little shifty, but it's obvious you're trying to keep an eye on him.
I'm glad you and Willow are relaxed enough with the cameras in your home to wear those tight athletic shorts. It's important to be comfortable when someone is filming a reality TV show in your living room. Life must go on.
Your family is so darn active that it makes me tired just watching from the sofa. The shooting range, kayaking, mountain climbing, hunting, halibut clubbing -- and all of that on top of your hectic talk show schedule and the "work" you keep talking about that seems to mainly involve a lot of time typing on your Blackberry. Don't know how you do it.
I really liked the SUV you drove to your 4 a.m. workout -- was that a Toyota logo? -- and the RV you and the First Dude have been using for trips throughout your beautiful state is unreal. Had to set you back a hundred grand or so, I bet, or maybe the network bought it for the show?
I think you're absolutely right to shield Bristol from the spotlight, the tabloids and the liberals by taking her with you on some of your trips, even if she still has to put up with the cameras the TV guys have set up in the RV.
I wish the First Dude would talk more, but I guess that's part of his charm. It was interesting to hear him say he would hire fewer workers if he had to pay higher taxes. He seems to have a keen eye for economic issues, which must come in handy in debate prep.
From my couch, everything seems to be going along really smoothly for "Sarah Palin's Alaska.'' I can't wait to find out what you'll be doing in the next episode. I do have one worry, though: Competition.
I think you know we've got this governor in Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, and from what we hear he's interested in the same job you've got your sights set on. I'm guessing "Tim Pawlenty's Minnesota'' is right around the corner.
There are lots of nice RVs for sale here right now, and Tim's co-pilot would likely be his wife, Mary, whom he refers to as his "red-hot smoking wife.'' I don't know what kind of economic expertise she has, but she's good with legal stuff, having been a judge. And she's a lot more talkative than the Dude.
Pawlenty once publicly joked that in truth the First Lady wasn't always as, well, red-hot as he might like. Imagine the dramatic possibilities in that episode. I'm guessing you don't have that problem with the First Dude.
Minnesota is an outdoorsy state, too, and Tim's done pretty well catching walleye during the annual fishing opener. He doesn't club them, but I bet he could.
Our governor also established the Governor's Deer Hunting Opener, although he caught some heat from the liberals a couple of years ago when a deer he shot got away from his hunting party and was never found.
There was absolutely no doubt that the caribou you shot on your show was dead because you were thoughtful enough to let us watch you go to town on the carcass in your garage. (I wish Piper hadn't been there, though: She seemed upset.)
"Tim Pawlenty's Minnesota'' will have plenty of opportunities to showcase the gory attractions in our state. The annual Gopher Count, in which trappers exchange gopher feet for money, has been held the third Thursday of June since 1874 in Viola, a nice little town near Rochester. It puts your halibut cruise to shame, what with the 90-minute parade and all.
You really need to keep an eye on this Pawlenty guy, Sarah. I've never seen him in shorts, but he's plenty comfortable on camera.
