Ex-Minn. governor ends U.S. presidential bid
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Xinhua, August 15, 2011
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, once viewed as a strong Republican contender for presidency, abandoned his White House bid on Sunday after a weak showing in the Iowa straw poll.
Pawlenty disclosed the decision to supporters in a conference call, and then made it public in an interview with ABC's "This Week".
"We needed to get some lift to continue on and have a pathway forward," "he said on the program. "That didn't happen, so I'm announcing this morning on your show that I'm going to be ending my campaign for president."
"I'm very, very grateful for the people of Iowa......I wish it would have been different, but obviously the pathway forward for me doesn't really exist, so we're going to end the campaign."
Despite his efforts, the two-term popular former governor of Minnesota finished a distant third in Saturday's Iowa straw poll, which is seen as an early indication for the strength of Republican presidential hopefuls.
Going into Saturday' poll held in Ames, Iowa, Pawlenty had indicated he would reassess his chances based on the results of the poll.
He had devoted much more time and resources in Iowa than most of the other candidates, but still lagged far behind Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.
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