Palin vs. Pawlenty on Hoffman Endorsement

Matthew E. Miller has a piece on Race42012. Not intended to be a Palin smear piece, it mocks the idea that Pawlenty was left out in the cold because Palin endorsed first. Read it here. An excerpt:

You get that? Palin was a genius for endorsing Hoffman, but when Pawlenty doesn’t have a decision ready two hours later, he’s a “loser” and a member of the “milquetoast establishment”. Boy I’m sure glad Palin delivered her endorsement in time for that 8:30 PM, October 23 deadline. Two minutes later and surely she’d have been on the wheel. Or wait… maybe the deadline only applies if you actually make a statement on the issue. So Palin would have been off the hook, then?

My response:

Yes, Hoffman has been out there for awhile and Palin just endorsed him. So what difference does it make if Pawlenty's a couple days later?

Palin was the first to endorse Doug Hoffman who has a shot at the White House. Fred Thompson can do whatever he wants without consequence. Palin, a potential 2012 candidate, went up against the GOP and Newt Gingrich before any other potentials that I am aware of. Huckabee just gave some lame excuse of why he hasn't endorsed Hoffman on Cavuto, and Pawlenty may endorse, but why not follow suit now that someone else has stepped out first?

Yes, Palin waited a little longer than many were calling for, but she was the first relevant figure, the first person of any consequence, to endorse Hoffman. Not only that, but she endorsed with both feet. She didn't just hand Hoffman some lip service; she threw her full weight behind him and slammed the GOP in the process.

In that sense, yeah, Pawlenty missed the boat.