Poor Tim Pawlenty.

His rear end must be black and blue from kicking himself so much.

Pawlenty’s hasty departure from the GOP presidential field in mid-August was questioned at the time, but given the sorry state of the not-ready-for-prime-time Republican players with just weeks to go before the first primaries and caucuses, Pawlenty must seriously regret his decision.

From the beginning, Pawlenty had run as the only rational, conservative alternative to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, whose liberal background on most social issues has eroded his support from the increasingly conservative and evangelical Republican base.

Pawlenty hadn’t caught fire in the early-going, as many Republicans pushed for other popular GOP governors, like Chris Christie or Mitch Daniels, to enter the race. But presidential contests aren’t sprints, they are marathons with many unexpected twists and turns. And few presidential contests have offered as many twists as this year’s Republican race.

At the time that Pawlenty dropped from the race, Michelle Bachmann was fresh off her first place showing at the Iowa straw poll and was riding high in the polls. That now seems like ancient history in a campaign that can change literally from moment-to-moment. Since Pawlenty’s departure, Michelle Bachmann (who didn’t fare well under the media scrutiny that comes with frontrunner status) has seen her support plummet in the polls. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who rocketed to the top spot within a week of his mid-August entry, had all but flamed out within a month, and probably doomed his candidacy for good with his memorable brain freeze at a GOP debate earlier this month.

Then, it was on to Herman Cain, who caught fire for a moment before running into a sexual harassment scandal and a brain freeze of his own this week during an editorial board interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. That interview has since gone viral on the Internet and quickly became fodder for the late night comics.

Newt Gingrich now appears to be making a late run, which is, itself, evidence of the growing desperation of Republican voters. Gingrich, whose narcissism and lack of self-discipline is legendary, won’t be helped by the recent revelation that he received over $1.6 million from Freddie Mac, one of the GOP’s top whipping posts. Gingrich’s claim that he served Freddie Mac as a “historian” is simply preposterous and is just another reminder that Gingrich is rarely burdened by a need to be truthful. In either case, he would be a disastrous candidate for the GOP.

Through the rise and fall of the party’s presidential wannabes, Mitt Romney’s support among Republican voters can’t seem to ever top 25 percent. While Romney has avoided major gaffes (with the possible exception of his “corporations are people” comment), and is probably the most qualified of the field, the simple fact is, Republicans just don’t trust him given his record of serial flip-flopping.

Which leaves GOP voters in an enormous quandary. They are quickly realizing that they have no credible and conservative alternative to a guy they don’t like and don’t trust.

The race, in fact, is playing out exactly the way Tim Pawlenty had hoped. Yet, he’s now watching from the sidelines. That’s just gotta hurt.