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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


POPPING THIS A.M. - "Behind-the-scenes at Gov. Pawlenty's announcement in Des Moines" - Tim Pawlenty's camp is set to release a new video this morning, wrapping up his first week as a declared 2012 candidate and amplifying the straight-talk message he rolled out in Iowa. "I want to be president because America is in big trouble," Pawlenty tells the "Today" show's Matt Lauer in the video. "These are serious times and they need serious people with serious solutions." Running through clips of the governor's kickoff speech and his interview with Rush Limbaugh, the short movie features several Iowans praising Pawlenty: "I look into his eyes and I see an honest man," says one. And another: "He is the people's man, and he's trying to be fair with everybody from all walks of life." Watch the whole thing - including an extended appearance by Mary Pawlenty - here: http://bit.ly/iGQTSL


LATER TODAY - IOWA COMES TO CHRISTIE - The New Jersey governor is scheduled to meet with a group of seven Iowa GOP power brokers, who are trekking east to lure him into the 2012 race. The Des Moines Register raises the curtain: "Iowa hog and ethanol baron Bruce Rastetter ... and a team of six other Iowa businessmen will fly by private jet Tuesday to meet with Christie ... The heavy hitters' journey is being closely watched by political operatives across the nation who read it as evidence of Republican discontent in the lead-off voting state with the developing field of GOP hopefuls - and a sign that Christie's resistance might crack." Rastetter set a low bar for success: "If we only accomplish one thing, and that is to encourage Chris Christie to maintain his leadership style and to encourage other Republicans to have the same leadership style, we'll feel very good about the trip." http://bit.ly/l2zMoI


SARAH PALIN'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE: The Alaskan's East Coast bus tour is underway, with Palin already making unannounced stops in Washington, Mount Vernon, Fort McHenry and Gettysburg. Palin's political plans remain a huge question mark: She told CNN only that she expects a "changed-up field" for 2012 and said she'd visit Iowa "at some point." And the tour isn't exactly running with campaign-like efficiency, POLITICO's Andy Barr reports: "For supporters and reporters looking for more details, Palin isn't providing them. Palin's staff has been unresponsive to reporters' requests ... 'It's a 'rather unconventional style,' Republican strategist Karl Rove said earlier Monday on Fox News. 'I bet you a dime to a dollar her visits to those areas are not proceeded by courtesy phone calls to the local Republican Party chairman and request they generate volunteers,' Rove said." http://bit.ly/miAYuS and http://politi.co/lvrkcv


PALIN'S NARRATIVE - In an interview with Greta Van Susteren: "They [the media] want, kind of, the conventional idea of, 'We want a schedule, we want to follow you, we want you to bring us along with you' ... I want them to have to do a little bit of work on a tour like this, and that would include not necessarily telling them beforehand where every stop is going to be ... The media can figure out where we're going if they do their investigative work." More here: http://bit.ly/kYHYfb and here: http://bit.ly/krvfvJ


As Mitt Romney hones his health care answer, Rick Perry faces a delay of game and Buddy Roemer imagines January 2013, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

5 QUESTIONS FOR 2012 - There's just a month left in the year's second fundraising quarter. The Republican frontrunner is about to go live. Here are our top five questions for the week ahead:


(1) What is the best New Hampshire name Mitt Romney will drop when he announces for president on Thursday?

(2) Does Tim Pawlenty have more bold truths to tell, or is that an ethanol-and-entitlements shtick only?

(3) How will the Union Leader cover Sarah Palin's anticipated visit to the Granite State (her first since 2008)?

(4) And how many times will she be on Fox as a paid contributor during her bus tour?

(5) When will Anthony Weiner next appear on cable TV and will his interviewer ask about you-know-what?


T MINUS 2 DAYS - MITT'S LAUNCH SITE - The former Massachusetts governor will kick off his campaign in a little more than 48 hours, at the Stratham farm of Doug and Stella Scamman. The Boston Herald sets the scene: "The Civil War-era barn, where five pigs and nine hens live, could become a media staging area ... Because Thursday, Bittersweet Farm, and its 300 lush green acres, will be at the white-hot center of the American political universe. Here, somewhere between the chicken coop, the tractors and the hay bales, Republican Mitt Romney will launch his second presidential bid. 'It's an honor,' said [Doug] Scamman, a longtime Republican state legislator who served two terms as New Hampshire's House speaker, and spent a few years as the state's budget director." http://bit.ly/kN2nIz


THE HEALTH CARE ANSWER - Romney's new line, to the Boston Globe, defending his support for the unpopular Massachusetts health care overhaul: "The health of the people in Massachusetts is more important to me than the health of my political prospects." http://bo.st/mC0HX8


COMPARE - John McCain's mantra, ca. 2007-2008, defending his support for the surge and unpopular war in Iraq: "I'd rather lose an election than lose a war." http://politi.co/iH3GDZ


HUNTSMAN SKIPPING N.H. DEBATE: The former Utah governor won't participate in the June 13 WMUR/CNN/Union Leader debate, which was expected to be the first face-off featuring the whole GOP field. Fox's Carl Cameron reports: "Aides say the former Utah Governor has no plans to explore a White House bid in the coming weeks but will visit New Hampshire TWICE before the ... debate. NH Huntsman staffer Paul Collins issued the following statement: 'Governor Huntsman will be spending the next few weeks continuing the due diligence process in line with the very short decision-making timetable he has laid out. He will not be participating in any debates until after that process is over and he formally announces his intentions. That announcement will not come before the June 13th debate.'" http://bit.ly/iBsMHo


POLL OF THE DAY - WAR PRESIDENT - From CNN's Paul Steinhauser: "A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday indicates that Obama's approval rating among Americans stands at 54 percent, with 45 percent saying they disapprove of the job he's doing as president. Obama's approval rating appears to have steadily risen in the past two months ... 'On specific issues, the president's approval rating is over 50 percent on only three out of 11 items tested, and all three - terrorism, Afghanistan, and Iraq - are foreign or security issues,' says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. 'But his approval rating on every domestic issue listed in the poll is well below 50 ... Bin Laden's death has not made much difference in Obama's approval rating among people under the age of 65, but among senior citizens, positive views of his track record are up nine points, to 51 percent." http://bit.ly/kttpmq


RUDY WANTS IT: America's mayor would like to be America's president - or so he told reporters in Ithaca during a weekend trip to Cornell commencement. The Ithaca Journal: "Rudy Giuliani wants to be president of the United States ... During his remarks to the media before the convocation address, Giuliani would not say with any certainty whether he will seek the presidency as he did in 2008. Instead, he said, he will gauge the field of candidates and make a decision later on in the process ... 'The question is, "Are you the right person to run for it." ... I don't know the answer to that question yet,' Giuliani said." http://bit.ly/mzRqrC


PLUS - REALLY? More from the paper: "Giuliani also said he would endorse Rep. Peter King of Long Island if King sought the presidency." http://bit.ly/mzRqrC


PERRY WATCH - TROUBLE AT HOME: Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he'd think about running for president after the state legislative session ended Monday. That plan hit a snag when Democratic legislators blocked an essential spending bill, forcing a special session in Austin. The Statesman reports: "The House and Senate ... will return Tuesday for a special session to deal with a budget-related bill, school finance and other issues. Gov. Rick Perry has not yet said which issues the Legislature will tackle in its 30-day special session. Speaker Joe Straus said the plan is to come back at 8 a.m. and wait to see what Perry has to say regarding the special session. Straus added that he hopes lawmakers will not be here for an extended period of time in a special session." http://bit.ly/m1JbP8


PLUS - LOW CONFIDENCE - The Texas Tribune insider's poll found 82 percent of state politicos believe Perry will still be governor of Texas in 2013, no matter if he enters the presidential race. Ross Ramsey: "Our insiders are split on whether Gov. Rick Perry will run for president, with 47 percent saying he will, 43 percent saying he won't, and 10 percent saying they don't know ... 11 percent say he'll be vice president [in 2013], and 7 percent predict he'll be a resident of the White House." http://bit.ly/iABQwj


THE 2016 SCORE - THUNE TO IOWA: He may have bowed out of the 2012 competition, but South Dakota Sen. John Thune isn't immune to the gravitational pull of Iowa. In fact, Thune's going to be there today at the same time as Tim Pawlenty, according to the Sioux City Journal: "The American Future Fund ... will begin the 2011 Conservative Lecture Series with an appearance in the city by U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. About an hour later, Tim Pawlenty will campaign for the presidency at the downtown library." http://bit.ly/jGEjgt


CABLE BAIT - TRESSEL FOR SENATE? The Youngstown Vindicator fires up the unfounded speculation: "[T]he former Ohio State University head football coach would certainly be a formidable candidate if he chose to run next year in the Ohio Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Tressel, former football coach at Youngstown State University, has greater name recognition than either of the two prospective candidates for the GOP nomination, state Treasurer Josh Mandel and former Treasurer and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell ... He's a gifted speaker, he knows the state of Ohio well and would have little trouble raising money." http://bit.ly/juDJZx


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'll go back to the heartland, where I started. We'll dance, eat and drink American products." - Buddy Roemer, pledging to hold his inauguration in Iowa http://bit.ly/iHJfUt

Go to Morning Score Now >> http://www.politico.com/morningscore


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