Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty formally entered the Republican presidential race Monday with a broadside against President Barack Obama's leadership. His vow to face up to the nation's fiscal problems included a pledge to phase out subsidies on ethanol.

Mr. Pawlenty, speaking in the corn-growing state of Iowa, used his ethanol stance as a contrast to Mr. Obama, who he said had failed to level with Americans about the tough choices needed to get the nation back on track.

"Fluffy promises of hope and change don't buy our groceries, make our mortgage payments, put gas in our cars, or pay for our children's school clothes," Mr. Pawlenty said to a crowd of about 200 at the state Historical Building west of the Iowa State House in Des Moines.

He cast himself as a truth-teller, willing to level with the American people about the sacrifices that would be needed to tame the $1.5 trillion budget deficit and get the economy rolling.

So far, Mr. Pawlenty has not laid out detailed policy on some of the issues to emerge in the current budget debate. He has yet to take a firm position on the House Republican plan to replace traditional Medicare with government-subsidized private insurance for people currently younger than 55.