Pawlenty jumps in 2012 race with YouTube video

Today, in a YouTube video, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, announced that he would form an exploratory committee to consider a run for the Republican nomination in 2012. Here's the video:



The video marks the first announcement from a major Republican candidate, and Pawlenty has set the bar high. The polished and professional video is a departure from the announcement videos we saw in 2007, which were more of the straight-to-camera variety. See President Obama's announcement, for example:



Pawlenty's well-thought-out video announcement is not a surprise. He has already built out a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos, most notably January's "Courage to Stand," which has over 160,000 views.

We'll be waiting to see if other candidates enter the Republican field in a similar, closely-edited manner, or if they craft a YouTube strategy all their own.

Pawlenty - inching towards an official declaration?

Last week, we brought you a few musical tributes to possible Republican presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Today, Governor Tim Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC released "Courage to Stand," an extremely well-produced video...err, cinematographic experiment? Watch it here:



While Pawlenty has not officially declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination, with videos like this, we wouldn't be surprised if he did announce something in the near future. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on his YouTube channel though...