Tim Pawlenty quits presidential campaign [VIDEO]

Tim Pawlenty: You won't have T-Paw to kick around anymore.

​Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced this morning that he is quitting the presidential race after his disappointing third place finish in the Iowa straw poll yesterday.

Once considered one of three likely front-runners, T-Paw's campaign failed to catch fire. Once fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann entered the race, she stole much of his thunder and quickly usurped the throne. When she finished first in Ames yesterday, it was the final nail in Pawlenty's political coffin.

"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," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty made the formal announcement on ABC's This Week, saying that he was not interested in filling out any other candidate's ticket as the vice presidential candidate.

It was a fitting end to a quixotic campaign that was announced on the obituary page of his hometown newspaper:
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