Pawlenty and the mosque

I had been wondering which of the possible Republican 2012 candidates would come out looking like rational, reasoning statesmen (or women) and which would align themselves with Palin, Gingrich, and the World Net Daily wing of the party.  I've had some respect for Tim Pawlenty, the Republican governor of Minnesota, who recently did an interview with Real Clear Politics.  It's clear that he is considering a run, and that he's on the side of Palin and the anti-Muslim GOP crowd.  He says of the mosque:

"I'm strongly opposed to the idea of putting a mosque anywhere near Ground Zero-I think it's inappropriate," he said. "I believe that 3,000 of our fellow innocent citizens were killed in that area, and some ways from a patriotic standpoint, it's hallowed ground, it's sacred ground, and we should respect that. We shouldn't have images or activities that degrade or disrespect that in any way."  (From Real Clear Politics) 

I had hoped that Republicans might get a few new talking points on this issue from Mayor Bloomberg's admirable speech.  It's still early, but that hope is fading.