Pawlenty: U.S. Must Turn 'Toward God'

Politico reports:

Tim Pawlenty positioned himself as the 2012 GOP field’s most experienced social conservative, touting his opposition to abortion, defense of traditional marriage and devout Christianity.

“The best sermons aren’t preached, they’re lived,” he told the Faith & Freedom Conference in Washington on Friday.

The former Minnesota governor pointed to his record, arguing that the evangelical and social conservatives in the audience should trust that over whatever rhetoric they hear from all the other presidential candidates who address them.

“You’re going to say, ‘Boy, that sounds pretty similar,’” he said. “But I also hope you ask the question, ‘Who’s actually done it?’ Not just talking, who’s actually done it. In the land of Al Franken, we moved the needle on all of it.”

Pawlenty struck a more religious tone linking his usual stump speech themes of fiscal responsibility and American greatness stump speech to Christian thinking.

“We need to be a nation that turns toward God, not away from God,” he said.

And he came out hard for outlawing abortion, calling that one of the nation’s top priorities.

“If we’re going to provide a quality of life to our citizens, we need to remember this point: It’s really hard to have a quality of life, unless you have a life,” he said.