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(AP) - Not long ago, Minnesota's governor
routinely yukked it up with late-night comedians and was hotly
pursued for Sunday morning political programs.

      But that was before the audacious Jesse Ventura handed the reins
to a conventional Tim Pawlenty, a polished Republican who has fast
pushed out from his predecessor's shadow and built a name for
himself beyond Minnesota.

      On Monday, Pawlenty takes over as chairman of the National
Governors Association as the organization moves into its centennial
year. And by next year, he'll strut his stuff before the Republican
establishment when the party's nominating convention comes to town.

      Just 46, Pawlenty says he'll stay put until his term ends in
2010, and he won't rule out a bid for a third term. And he denies
he's positioning himself for higher office.

      "You could drive three minutes south of the Minnesota border
and nobody would know or care who I am. And that's OK," Pawlenty
said in an interview Thursday.

      "I'm energetic but I'm not obsessed with what I'm going to do
three years from now," he said. "I could very easily be running a
nonprofit or fishing on Lake Vermilion or working somewhere
internationally. I have no idea."

      Pawlenty caught the eye of national conservatives by
consistently opposing state tax increases, even as Minnesota
struggled with budget deficits of as much as $4 billion. 

He also
pressed their favored positions on education, including merit pay
for teachers instead of raises based largely on seniority.

      At the same time, Pawlenty has appealed to moderate voters by
pushing green-energy goals and by easing the purchase of cheaper
prescription drugs from Canada. 

In a state that leans slightly
left, he managed last year to claim a second term - by less than
one percentage point - in an otherwise dismal election for
Republicans nationwide.

      "He won in Minnesota in the worst of all years," said Chris
Tiedeman, a young GOP activist who admires Pawlenty so much he
helped launch a "Party of Pawlenty" Web site. In an inaugural
posting, Tiedeman described Pawlenty as a model for an ailing
party: "Governor Pawlenty has become the GOP brand."

      Pawlenty may downplay talk of a national future, but his own
moves are stoking it.

      He's one of John McCain's most ardent backers, co-chairing the
Arizona senator's now-sagging presidential campaign. He regularly
features national opinion shapers on his weekly radio show. 

And
last week, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken
Mehlman made him the main attraction at a luncheon with Washington
political reporters and a private gathering for GOP powerbrokers.

      In March, he snagged a speaking slot at the heavily attended
Conservative Political Action Conference in between a parade of
2008 presidential candidates. 

David Keene, chairman of the American
Conservative Union, said the invitation reflected Pawlenty's
rising-star status -- much like the 3,800-word profile in The Weekly
Standard under the headline "Tooting the Horn of Pawlenty."

      "If he were consciously pursuing a plan to achieve national
prominence, he is doing all the right things," Keene said. "He's
playing all the cards he can play."

      As comfortable in hockey skates as he is in wingtips, Pawlenty
often has trouble hiding boyish tendencies from his days growing up
in the meatpacking town of South St. Paul. 

He runs notoriously
behind schedule, a habit not helped by his delight in tossing a
football during road trips or swinging a baseball bat on the
Capitol grounds.

      A smooth orator, Pawlenty enjoys unloading edgy one-liners on
his foes, like the time he compared Democrats backing a tax
increase to weak-willed dieters who "celebrate getting out of
Weight Watchers by going over to the all-you-can-eat buffet."


Still, he admits he sometimes takes things too far and comes off
sounding like a smart-aleck.

      Minnesota Democrats have accused Pawlenty for years of putting
his ambition ahead of the state's roads, schools and other needs.

      "If Tim Pawlenty were not playing for a national audience he
would have been less dogmatic about his no-new-taxes pledge,"
State Democratic Party Chairman Brian Melendez said, adding, "Tim
Pawlenty is trying to serve different masters."

      As chairman of the National Governors Association, which lobbies
Congress on pressing issues at the state level, Pawlenty will
spearhead a broad public policy initiative of his choosing. 

Past
governors have pursued everything from high-school restructuring to
combatting obesity; Pawlenty will outline his vision Monday.

      The position has hardly been a successful stepping stone.
Tennessee's Lamar Alexander, Vermont's Howard Dean and Virginia's
Mark Warner all held the post before abbreviated flings in
presidential politics. Bill Clinton is the only former chairman who
went on to the White House.

      "It's a very big jump from the head honcho governor to a
nomination," said Stephen Wayne, a presidential scholar at
Georgetown University.

Gallery

Pawlenty, others not giving up on McCain

Big companies pressed to give big for GOP convention

In Minn., supportive governor helps McCain raise cash

Pawlenty vetoes tax bill

Politics and Government News

Brian Bakst, Associated Press

Author

Gov. Tim Pawlenty may downplay talk of a national future, but his own moves are stoking it. On Monday he becomes the head of the National Governors Association. He'll play a prominent role in the Republican National Convention in 2008, and he's a highly visible supporter of presidential candidate John McCain.


Pawlenty takes another step on path that seems to lead upward

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