Pawlenty is an affable, mainstream conservative that is not off-putting towards moderates.
This is true. I don't find him particularly detestable. He's great for a Republican on the environment, for example.
This is quite true. Pawlenty is a softie (just like any Minnesotan politician!).
Maybe people from out-of-state might find it quaint, but Pawlenty's reception would be relatively tepid (compared to the average homestate advantage, which is to say the reception would be warm and enthusiastic); just as Pawlenty doesn't create terrible hatred, he also doesn't incite zealotry among the Minnesotan Republican ranks. He's vanilla.
