T-Paw, Deer Hunter

The Democrats are trying to push this story about Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor and 2012 hopeful:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has taken a drubbing from hunters for not tracking down a deer he shot on opening day of Minnesota’s firearm deer season.

A headline on deerhuntingchat.com calls the possible presidential candidate a “slob hunter” for wounding a deer on Nov. 7 and then leaving for a Republican fundraiser in Iowa before the animal could be found.

One contributor wrote: “What kind of slob hunter goes out opening morning and shoots a deer knowing full well you won’t have time to retrieve it or tend to it? One whose presidential ambitions override his hunting ethics, that’s what kind.”

The-deer-hunting-guide.com says: “A responsible hunter, who is also an ethical hunter, will be prepared to spend hours trailing a wounded deer; even come back the next day if needed. You must make every effort to retrieve a wounded animal. It’s the right ethical thing to do.”

Pawlenty’s buddies tried to track down the deer later, but couldn’t find it. According to the story, T-Paw had only bagged one deer before the Iowa hunt. If he’s jealous of Sarah Palin’s hunting prowess, though, he’s on the wrong track. Everyone knows that the toughest hunters gun down wolves from helicopters. That, or they hunt quail. T-Paw doesn’t stand a chance.