According to Politico's Kendra Marr, "Courage to Stand" "recounts how he became the first kid in his family to go to college, met his wife and fashioned a political career that put him on the shortlist for vice presidential candidates in 2008. It's rounded out with tales of meat-packing plants, picket fences and trips to Grandma Rose's house."

On the face of it, the book appears to be a pleasant, perhaps even somewhat inspiring, tale: a recounting of his journey from hardscrabble beginnings to a successful political career. It's not all bread and roses, as Pawlenty also takes up some space in the 300-plus-page tome to take a few shots at President Obama, liberally criticizing his first two years in the White House.

Pawlenty may be pining his hopes - and perhaps has come up with a campaign slogan - on a sentence from the book's introduction: ""We did it in Minnesota, and we have to do it in Washington." If you're not sure what "it" is, you're not likely to find out anything more specific than the smaller government, less taxes mantra that is a good part of Pawlenty's spiel.

Largely unknown outside of Minnesota, Pawlenty writes: "When they learn about my background, I think people can say, 'Hey, this guy's experienced some of what I've experienced.' My life was built on challenges and real-life struggle. It's a story that connects with what many Americans experience in their lives."

Thus far, book sales are going nowhere. As of late January, Nielsen BookScan, a national data provider for the book publishing industry, reported that Pawlenty had sold a total of 4,765 books, "the vast majority since the beginning of his national book tour in New York on Jan. 11." Interestingly enough, as of this writing (February 2), Obama's almost seven-year-old "Dreams" and Palin's year-plus "Rogue" are both outselling Pawlenty's "Courage" at Amazon. (See what could easily be considered a decidedly over-the-top 75-second trailer for the book @ http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2011/01/is_th is_a_trailer_for_tim_pawl.html.)

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Kevin Diaz, "Actual sales could be a bit higher, since BookScan only counts sales at national bookstore chains, Amazon, and indie book sellers who chose to report. The general rule of thumb is that the service counts about 75 percent of total sales." As of this writing (February 2), "Courage to Stand" ranks 7,414 on Amazon's Bestseller's list.

Perhaps Pawlenty should take a page from Mitt Romney's playbook on how to boost sales of his book. According to Politico's Ben Smith, "Romney boosted sales of his book [in the] spring [of 2010] by asking institutions to buy thousands of copies in exchange for his speeches..."

Smith pointed out that "Romney's total price - $50,000 - was on the high end, and his publisher, according to the document from the book tour - provided on the condition it not be described in detail - asked institutions to pay at least $25,000, and up to the full $50,000 price, in bulk purchases of the book. With a discount of roughly 40 percent, that meant institutions could wind up with more than 3,000 copies of the book - and a person associated with one of his hosts said they still have quite a pile left over. "

Knocking on Religious Right's doors

Although Pawlenty's numbers also pale in comparison to the book sales (previous and current) of other GOP presidential hopefuls (Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee), he is nevertheless knocking on the doors that he thinks might be open to his presidential ambitions.

Several of those doors lead to the inner sanctums of Religious Right leaders. According to Christianity Today's Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Pawlenty is "an outspoken evangelical, ... [who] attends Wooddale Church, led by Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals."

Despite the fact that Palin, former Arkansas Mike Huckabee and even a relatively newly religion-conscious Newt Gingrich are already knocking on the doors of Religious Right leaders, Pawlenty clearly intends to plow the same turf, albeit in a more "thoughtful and civil" manner. In a recent interview with Christianity Today (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/qatimpaw lenty.html), Pawlenty talked about his religious beliefs, how he handles those beliefs in public, and his attempts to offer up a kinder, gentler message.

When asked by Sarah Pulliam Bailey about the recent remarks of newly elected Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, who, while speaking at a Baptist church about accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior, said: "I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister and I want to be your brother."

While admitting that he wasn't familiar with that situation, Pawlenty said that his approach is quite different: "When I go into the public square and speak about faith matters, first of all, I try to not inject my own personal editorial comments. If I make a faith-related comment, I usually quote from the Bible, often from the Old Testament. I remind people that our country is founded under God, and the Founders thought that was an important perspective. I watch my tone so I don't get judgmental or angry about issues. I try to express myself in ways that are measured and appropriate and hopefully civil and positive. Lastly, I try not to say that God is on my side, but I strive to be on God's side. "

Asked about Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels' recent call for a truce in the culture wars - a remark that he walked back pretty quickly when pounced on by a number of Religious Right leaders - Pawlenty said that he was "proud to be both "a fiscal conservative and a social conservative."

Pawlenty also retreated from his previous stand of supporting a regional cap and trade plan for reducing greenhouse gases; had kind words for Sarah Palin ("She's a force of nature"); acknowledged his friendship with Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann ("I campaigned for her"); overcoming the public's "unfamiliarity" outside Minnesota; and the role the Religious Right plays within the Republican Party (extensive).

Pawlenty's politics

Might Tim Pawlenty seem too likeable? Too awash in notions of kinder, gentler? Not so much, the Boston Phoenix's David S. Bernstein pointed out in his insightful review of "Courage to Stand":

"Pawlenty's politics are unusually cold-blooded toward those who receive any government help," Bernstein recently wrote. "From the book's second paragraph he is denouncing (in the context of Greece) people 'addicted to entitlements and living the good life off the government dole.' That attitude continues throughout. He seems genuinely disgusted by 'people who have money in their pocket that they never had to work for' (this apparently does not apply to inherited money, which he thinks should not be taxed); people who 'feel entitled to get paid... as if it's the government's job or someone else's duty to provide for them.' His policy sections are devoted almost exclusively to the end goals of shrinking government and lowering taxes; there are rarely any positive functions of government discussed, nor any regret for, or even awareness of, the effects of government cuts.

"What's striking is that Pawlenty makes no attempt to connect the dots at all between his real-life experience and his political beliefs," Bernstein noted. In the end, Pawlenty's pugnacious attitude toward unions (despite the fact "his father and other family relatives were members"), the unemployed, poor and needy puts him solidly in the camp of all the other Republican Party presidential hopefuls.

In looking at Tim Pawlenty, it appears, as Gertrude Stein famously stated, "there's no there there."

Why Tim Pawlenty?  Perhaps some of the 4,000-plus people who have thus far bought his book might have some answers.