Pawlenty piles on

Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, taking his turn in Denver today to bash Democratic nominee Barack Obama, hammered home the Republican message that the staging of Obama's acceptance speech reveals his arrogance and vanity.

The backdrop for the stage at Invesco Field features faux-Greek columns made of plywood. Republicans are dubbing it the "Temple of Obama," and Pawlenty, believed to be among the finalists for Republican John McCain's running mate, piled on.

"It looks like they are getting ready for the emperor to arrive," Pawlenty said on Fox News Network. "The facade is metaphor for production purposes, but there’s not much behind it. It’s the perfect metaphor for Barack Obama’s readiness to be president of the United States."

On ABC, Pawlenty said, "This Roman-like facade, a facade with Roman columns, is a perfect metaphor or icon for the point that it's an interesting production, but behind it there's not much there."

He added, "My goodness, it's amazing that we're three days into the Democratic convention and 60 or so days from the actual election and they're still trying to plead with the American people and convince us that Barack Obama is ready to be president. The fact of the matter, he is not."

The New York Post lampooned the backdrop with a cover today that blared, "'O' My God."