This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 11, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM PAWLENTY, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Where is Barack Obama on these issues? You can't find his plans on some of the most pressing financial issues of our country. For example, where is Barack Obama's plan on Social Security reform, Medicare reform, Medicaid reform.
In fact, I'll offer a prize tonight to anybody in this auditorium or anyone watching on television, if you can find Barack Obama's specific plan on any of those items, I will come to your house and cook you dinner.
(APPLAUSE)
Or if you prefer, I'll come to your house and mow your lawn, but in case Mitt wins I'm limited to one acre, one acre.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: All right, that was former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and he was there voicing his criticism of President Barack Obama in tonight's Republican presidential debate.
And over the last few months, Governor Pawlenty has spent a lot of his time and frankly his money right here in Iowa. He's hoping for a very strong showing in Saturday's all-important straw poll.
But tonight he's here live on "Hannity," Governor Pawlenty. All right, so you're offering free dinner or a choice, or cutting the lawn, but Romney only gets one acre? What is up with that? Discriminating against your fellow candidate?
PAWLENTY: Well, look at his, he has a big lawn. I only got so much time. I've got to be on the campaign trail. But look, the point was about Barack Obama's leadership. Where is he, Sean?
He doesn't have a plan on the major financial issues of our day. We shouldn't have to play come out whenever you are with the president of the United States. That's why I offered that price. I don't think I'm going to have to mow anybody's lawn or make anybody dinner because he doesn't have a plan and nobody will find it.
HANNITY: You know, that's the thing, I don't know how we got the debt limit increase without him ever putting a plan in writing on the table that people would have an opportunity to dissect. I think that's a good cricitism.
PAWLENTY: They supposedly reverenced it in the meetings. But look, if you're the president of the United States, you're the leader. You've got to step to the microphone. You got to step up and say I'm going lead. Instead, he's again leading from behind or not at all.
HANNITY: Yes, all right, a lot going to be made, as you know of the exchange that you had, we just had Congresswoman Bachmann on the program. You went after her pretty hard. You said you did not go after her on the issue of migraines or headaches.
I think all of us are probably taken Excedrin at least once or twice in our life when we get headaches, but you attacked her and said she had no accomplishments, unqualified, et cetera, et cetera.
To what extent, you know, are you concerned people are going to say this has to do with polls? You're fighting back? You know, right now she's -- her poll numbers in Iowa are better or --
PAWLENTY: I got asked a question so I answered it. As to the headaches, I think that is a side show. I don't think that's a relevant issue, but Congresswoman Bachmann wants to assign herself the label of leader.
If you assign yourself a label of leader, you've got to be accountable for the results and so as we got on that back and forth she said she fought and was a voice. Well, if you're going to be president of the United States you've got to be more than a voice.
You're going to be a leader on fighting against Obamacare. We got Obamacare. If you're going to be a leader against things like more spending. Well, we've got more spending. The point is that you can't just be someone who gives speeches. You've got to produce the results if you're going to be our nominee, if you're going to be effectively combating Obama in the campaign and if you're going to be president of the United States. So bottom line is if you look at her record in Congress, she doesn't have that.
HANNITY: We have discussed the issue, you regret the cap and trade issue that you supported. You've talked about it. We've been there. She brought that up tonight. She also brought up the issue of --
PAWLENTY: But she brought it up inaccurately. Again, she said I imposed it in Minnesota. No I didn't. We had legislation that studied it. We considered it, but well before it never got imposed or even close to imposed I rejected it and came out against it several years ago. So again, she's aloof with facts in a lot of regards.
HANNITY: Did it bother you and I think one of my colleagues said that one of the worst things you can say is compare you to Barack Obama. Did that hurt?
PAWLENTY: Look, you know, when I was governor and she was in Congress, she used to say nice things about me. So now we're competing and of course, the rhetoric has changed, but that is politics.
HANNITY: All right, let's talk a little bit about, you know, where we are with the money. You know we are financially -- we lose our AAA rating and we're headed to real economic problems. You brought up the issue about how you -- how fast can we recover?
Where is Obama's plan, et cetera? How fast could you get this economy up and rolling again? And I think you're talking about growth, five percent a year for 10 years. How do you pull that off and how short a period of time until you can get that five percent growth area?
PAWLENTY: Well, remember markets anticipate the future if you give them confidence and certainty. So even if changes didn't have a full affect for a while, the fact you're going to do them and commit to them would send a positive signal.
If you go to TimPawlenty.com, you'll see my plan, but it has these highlights. Cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. Take the individual rates from six down to two. Do an American not a Middle Eastern energy policy. Lighten way up on regulations so that they're more pro job. Do health care reform the right way. No individual mandates, no takeovers and more.
But if you say we're going to end back those things even if the affects spill out over months or in some cases longer, the market will say, my goodness, we're turning this thing around. We count on that. We got confidence and people will start to invest and spend and hire.
HANNITY: You took a little issue with Mitt Romney, his answer on his health care plan when he was governor of the state of Massachusetts. He answered that it ought to be state decisions. You took a little bit of issue with that. What is your position on health care and individual mandate?
PAWLENTY: The question related to is the Obamacare label fair? Look, anybody who looks at it fairly will say there are great similarities and they're essentially the same between Obamacare and what happened in Massachusetts.
HANNITY: What does it make a difference if the state does a version of the federal government --
PAWLENTY: Well, he would say that's one of the differences, but I don't think...
(CROSSTALK)
PAWLENTY: It's a difference, but you can't credibly look at those two plans and say they're somehow fundamentally different. They're essentially the same.
HANNITY: OK. The other issue was, as it relates to Afghanistan, you'd say you would draw down slower? Explain.
PAWLENTY: Well, I think our remaining mission in Afghanistan is to make sure the Afghan security forces, both in quality and in number, are sufficient to stand up as we stand down. We're not quite there yet. I would have accepted General Petraeus's recommendation and General Mullen's recommendation, which is to start to draw down the surge level of troops, but do it a little more slowly than Barack Obama has proposed because that's what's in the best interests of that mission I just described.
Unfortunately, in my view, President Obama didn't listen to those generals who know the most about it than anybody and he accelerated the drawdown in a way that I don't think is going to be best for the mission or best in our interests in that country.
HANNITY: Governor, great to see you.
PAWLENTY: All right, Sean.
HANNITY: Thank you so much for joining us.
PAWLENTY: Thank you, appreciate it.
Content and Programming Copyright 2011 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2011 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.