Flood gives Pawlenty a chance to sandbag national GOP rivals

After declaring a state of emergency there on Friday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty headed to Moorhead today for an early-afternoon briefing with local officials about the looming flood in western Minnesota. Pawlenty and local officials will meet with media representatives after the briefing. It’s a chance for T-Paw to re-start the national PR offensive that The Fix — also on Friday — declared politically inevitable. Losing a re-election bid would be a career-killer, according to The Washington Post blog, so staying out of that race (and keeping higher-office options open) is a no-brainer.

The Fix’s Chris Cillizza fixed Pawlenty’s current rank among “Ten Republicans to Watch” thusly:

7. Tim Pawlenty: T-Paw, the governor of Minnesota, continues to stay out of the national limelight but watch for him to ramp up his national profile in the early summer. Pawlenty also has to make a decision about whether or not to seek a third term in 2010 after winning in 2006 with just 47 percent. A loss would likely close out his presidential prospects, a fact that leads us to believe Pawlenty will retire to focus on building a national organization rather than risk his political future on a single statewide race. (Previous ranking: 6)

UPDATE: That may be the view from D.C., but an argument can be made that Pawlenty has a good shot at a third term.