Tim Pawlenty has a short interview about his new banking lobbyist career in the March edition of Delta's Sky Magazine.
There doesn't seem to be an electronic version of the article, but the former Minnesota governor earns some of his big salary — reported to be up to $1.8 million a year — by getting visibility for himself and his association of big banks with bored executives sitting in First Class.
Some of the questions:
Q. What about this job appealed to you?
A. It's a nice mix of business and public policy at a CEO level, in a position that allows you to address really important issues facing the economy and the economic future of our country. This is a group of some of the most important financial institutions in America. They're really important to the economy overall. They're important to economic recovery, and they've gone through a real tough patch over the last three or four years. It's an opportunity to help lead the effort to get back to a better place.
Q. Will you be doing any lobbying yourself?
A. I oversee the organization and there's a lobbying department that does the bulk of that. I'm obviously going to have some contact with policymakers, but that's not the bulk of what I'll be doing.