Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty penned an op-ed on Sunday in the Union Leader, a newspaper based out of Manchester, New Hampshire. The editorial continues Pawlenty’s early presidential campaign — even if the governor is unwilling to call it that quite yet — that has included frequent visits to early primary states in advance of the 2010 midterm elections and an increased presence on Fox News, all ahead of a new book planned for next year.

In the editorial, Pawlenty, attempting to show New Hampshire voters a folksy, ‘Sam’s Club Republican’ style, compares spending by the federal government to an open bar at a wedding. “Guests tend to consume almost endlessly (we’ve all seen it), with no regard for cost, much less the volume of consumption,” Pawlenty writes. “People at an open bar are more likely to embarrass themselves, not to mention bankrupt the father of the bride.”

It’s a line the governor has used frequently during his pre-presidential campaign stops in other states. In the op-ed, Pawlenty uses that argument against the health-care reform bill Congress passed, touting his efforts to reject the bill through lawsuits and using his executive position to prevent Minnesota from taking part in certain aspects of the program.

“It [the Affordable Care Act] drags health care into Washington, D.C., expanding bureaucracy, mandates, entitlements and government subsidies. It does nothing to control costs,” Pawlenty writes. “And once again, the government will serve up the allure of endless consumption and a magically disappearing bill. But we know nothing is truly free.”

While the policy sections of the editorial focus on issues that dominate discussion among the Republican base, its main point appears to be conveying the idea that Pawlenty is a normal, everyday guy. Beyond the open-bar-versus-cash-bar comparison, he cites the lyrics to a country song. “In a great country song, Garth Brooks sings, ‘long neck bottle, let go of my hand,’” Pawlenty writes. “The current mess we’re in is not someone else’s fault. The solution is in our hands.”

Though Minnesota may share a border with Iowa, Pawlenty’s presidential hopes may depend on his showing in the New Hampshire primary rather than in the Iowa caucus. In recent years, social conservatives have played a growing role in Iowa’s Republican Party, with the faction scoring a major win when all three Supreme Court justices on the ballot this year were voted out of office after their votes instituting same-sex marriage. These voters are much more likely to back candidates such as Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee who have established their bona fides with social conservatives.

New Hampshire, on the other hand, continues to contain a more moderate, independently-minded Republican Party that could be favorable to Pawlenty’s style. Early polls of the state (which should be taken with a grain of salt when they are conducted over a year before voters head to the polls) show Pawlenty far behind the rest of the pack at 4 percent support. Those same polls put former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney far ahead of the other candidates, at 40 percent.

Pawlenty will likely draw support from similar elements of the party as Romney, so these early polls indicate that once Pawlenty raises his name recognition on the campaign trail, he could establish himself as the alternative moderate Republican in the race and pull voters away from Romney. Likely Pawlenty’s most viable route toward gaining his party’s nomination will be through a strong New Hampshire showing in February 2012, using that win as a springboard for future primary victories.

(Photo: Tom Wallace/Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZUMApress.com)