I say - now watch what you say
They'll be calling you a radical,
A liberal,
Oh, fanatic or criminal!

Oh won't you sign up your name
We'd like to feel you're acceptable,
Respectable,
Oh, presentable - a vegetable!
-- from "The Logical Song" by Supertramp

From where I'm standing, worrying about the consequences of calling someone like Pawlenty an idiot is entirely un-American. Calling politicians an "idiot" is a long-standing tradition in countries that style themselves to have some semblance of freedom of speech.