Pawlenty jumps in 2012 race with YouTube video

Today, in a YouTube video, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, announced that he would form an exploratory committee to consider a run for the Republican nomination in 2012. Here's the video:



The video marks the first announcement from a major Republican candidate, and Pawlenty has set the bar high. The polished and professional video is a departure from the announcement videos we saw in 2007, which were more of the straight-to-camera variety. See President Obama's announcement, for example:



Pawlenty's well-thought-out video announcement is not a surprise. He has already built out a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos, most notably January's "Courage to Stand," which has over 160,000 views.

We'll be waiting to see if other candidates enter the Republican field in a similar, closely-edited manner, or if they craft a YouTube strategy all their own.