Republicans apparently sort of liked Gov. Tim Pawlenty's message to the RNC Thursday -- the Star Tribune reports he "received mild applause from the crowd and a polite standing ovation afterward" -- but Democrats were quick to rip the Minnesotan with national ambitions.

Pawlenty's rap sounded smooth: "In the eyes of many, President Obama is cool, cool, cool. But the American people are figuring out that he is wrong, wrong, wrong."

Responded the Democratic National Committee in a statement:

"Tim Pawlenty is a perfect example of why Republicans are no longer relevant as a Party.  Instead of offering solutions to the problems they themselves made, Republicans like Pawlenty spend all of their time trying to appeal to the worst instincts of the far right wing by chastising Democrats who are making real and substantive progress on behalf of the American people.

"Whether it was his naked partisan delay in seating Senator Franken, his draconian cuts to funding Minnesota's schools and health care system or his willingness today to toss out patently false partisan bombs at a party convention, Tim Pawlenty is proving himself to be nothing more than the far right wing ideologue Rush Limbaugh and the party elders hoped he would be."

Minnesota DFLers added:

"Governor Pawlenty has no room to criticize President Obama or any other Democratic leaders since, under his watch, fewer Minnesotans are employed, including 112,000 who have lost jobs since June 2008; Minnesota is facing a projected deficit of over $6 billion for the next budget cycle; and more Minnesotans are fighting to stay afloat while the Governor kicks more than 35,000 people out of the state health-care programs."

"Governor Pawlenty has done little in his administration other than side with big business, look out for big insurance, and leave Minnesotans in the dust as he makes his way toward Washington."