THE EARMARK

On the same morning that Tiger Woods apologized for instigating his wife’s golf club attack, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty told the Conservative Political Action Conference that the golfer’s spouse had it right all along.

Now he wants to set her loose on the federal government…

Joking about Woods’ looming press conference, Pawlenty said. “I think we can learn a lot from that situation. Not from Tiger, but from his wife.”

“She said she’d had enough, and we’ve had enough,” he said. “I think we should take a nine iron and smash the windows out.”

True to the spirit of his golf metaphor, Pawlenty then teed off on Democrats, slicing piles of red meat into a CPAC audience that aptly resembled a golf bunker… all white.

Pawlenty also took time to articulate the two positions one can take in American public life: Patriot or Liberal.

“Patriots in this room and patriots across the country are rising up, and we have a message for liberals: If you plan to take out freedoms we will fight back!” Pawlenty exclaimed.

Patriot or liberal?  Those are our only options?

Well then don’t tell the Kennedy family, a family known as much for their military service, Special Olympics sponsorship, and social justice initiatives as for their liberal politics.

And don’t tell CPAC’s own Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), who certainly isn’t a liberal, and probably isn’t a patriot either… unless wanting to secede from the country counts as patriotic.