One of the complaints about Tim Pawlenty's presidential bid was that he was boring. Naturally, he was the opposite last night during his post-candidacy interview with Stephen Colbert. Asked why he dropped out after notching 3rd place at Iowa's Ames Straw Poll? "I came in third place behind Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul. I think that's enough for any one person to endure," T-Paw zinged. And then, this: When queried about "learning to juggle" for more attention, Pawlenty congenially responded: "I thought about shooting sparks out my butt." (Note: there's ambiguity in how the exact wording is reported.) Colbert then quipped: "when you were actually running for president would you have given me that answer?" Pawlenty: "No." Well, at least he finally got everyone's attention. 

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Erik Hayden