Pawlenty on past cap-and-trade support: ‘I was wrong, it was a mistake, and I'm sorry’

White House hopeful Tim Pawlenty used Thursday night’s first GOP presidential debate to ask voters’ forgiveness for once supporting cap-and-trade as a means to cut greenhouse gas emissions — a policy that has become politically toxic among Republicans.

Pawlenty backed cap-and-trade when he was governor of Minnesota and agreed to participate in the multistate Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord.

He also cut a radio ad for the Environmental Defense Fund in 2008 that urged Congress to “get moving” and “cap greenhouse gas pollution now.”

But in last night’s GOP presidential debate in South Carolina, Pawlenty made his latest of several statements calling that past support a mistake. Pawlenty said he signed a law as governor to explore the state-level emissions-capping program, but subsequently decided it was bad policy.

“We signed up to look at it, to review it, to study it, to join with other states to look at it. And we did. And what I concluded subsequently is it's really a bad idea,” Pawlenty said in response to a question on the issue.

“And this is not in the last six months. I sent a letter to Congress, I think, about two years ago and at other times have said, I was wrong, it was a mistake, and I'm sorry. It's ham-fisted, it's going to be harmful to the economy,” he said.

Pawlenty described his past support as a “battle scar” that comes with the territory in an executive position.

“We all, everybody here and anybody else who is going to running for president or considering running for president, if you've got an executive position and you've been in the battle, you're going to have some battle scars, or you're going to have a few clunkers in your record,” he said.

“We all do, and that's one of mine. I just admit it. I don't try to duck it, bob it, weave it, try to explain it away,” Pawlenty said.