"Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty predicted Monday that the 2010 elections would produce a slate of “next-generation” GOP leaders...

The second-term Republican and potential 2012 presidential candidate specifically mentioned California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez and South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley, the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee, as promising candidates for the future of the party.

"Later this week, the White House budget office is due to produce its midyear report on the nation’s fiscal health.

If history is any guide, the administration will try to paint a rosy picture, but the truth is already obvious: Washington under President Barack Obama is not just broken — it’s broke.

"Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who recently started political action committees in New Hampshire and Iowa in a possible race for the Republican presidential nomination, spent Tuesday in Oklahoma talking with business and energy leaders.

Pawlenty is not seeking re-election as governor and said he won't make a decision on running for president until early 2012...

Pawlenty, 49, spoke in support of the Oklahoma gubernatorial bid of U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, and attended a fundraiser for her Tuesday night.

"Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has established political action committees to help him raise money for candidates this year in Iowa and New Hampshire, expected to hold the first 2012 presidential nominating contests.

The move by Pawlenty is a first by a would-be presidential prospect in Iowa, although Pawlenty aides say the maneuver is solely about this November's elections...