Few people outside of Washington, DC are paying attention to the GOP primary yet, which made it that much easier for Gov. Tim Pawlenty to steal Mitt Romney’s thunder on the day the former governor of Massachusetts announced he is forming a presidential exploratory committee.

Team Romney chose an odd day to make the announcement to begin with. Five years ago today Romney signed the Massachusetts health care law that President Obama claims as a model for Obamacare. Choosing yesterday for his launch assured that virtually every article covering his announcement would mention the health care law that is deeply unpopular with GOP primary voters.