Tim Pawlenty is First Casualty of Iowa Straw Poll

Yesterday, I wrote a brief post about the results of the Iowa Straw Poll in which Michele Bachmann beat Ron Paul by a small margin, and Tim Pawlenty came in a distant third, with less than half the votes of the top finishers. I mentioned that I didn’t really know what it meant for the big picture; there’s still a long way to go before we have a single Republican candidate to displace Obama (*DfOaLG) from the Sun Throne.

Well, this morning, the results have a little more meaning – for Tim Pawlenty. He announced he’s withdrawing from the race:

“The pathway forward for me doesn’t really exist and so we’re going to end the campaign,” he said.

Here’s CNN’s dispatch

Stacy McCain thinks his presence in Iowa might have had something to do with it

*Descended from Olympus and Lightworker Genius, on the order of Wile E. Coyote