The run-up to the 2012 presidential election has some extra spice for Minnesotans, with the state’s own Tim Pawlenty in the thick of — and maybe even leading — the national Republican pack. But for all the attention Pawlenty’s bold message has been getting, Minnesotans in particular should be wondering if the former governor’s presidential bid is on target.

Pawlenty grabbed headlines this week when he laid out his economic plan for the nation: major tax cuts, less government, reduced regulation. It all sounded good, no doubt, to many conservative voters (and donors) around the nation. What was missing, however, was any suggestion of how Pawlenty would negotiate the distance between presidential idea and national policy. Almost none of what he proposes to do actually lies within the president’s power, and so would require him to negotiate with and persuade no-doubt-reluctant Congressional leaders — exactly the sort of governing that he did not do while leading the state of Minnesota. Here, Pawlenty’s inability to work with the Legislature and his lone-ranger methods led to court challenges and, ultimately, played a role in today’s $5 billion state budget deficit.

When it comes to understanding what it might take to lead the nation, Pawlenty seems to be head and shoulders above most of his Republican competitors, announced and unannounced. But it would be nice if candidate Pawlenty could talk about how he would actually govern, as opposed to simply pitching big ideas that are not really within a president’s power to achieve — at least not alone.