Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is feeling pretty good today. After using his political power as the state’s Republican leader and his veto power as governor, Pawlenty has notched a massive state budget victory that Politico’s Ben Smith says lays the groundwork for the governor’s assumed 2012 presidential run.

Refusing to compromise with Democrats who control the state legislature, Pawlenty held Republicans together and essentially forced the passage of a budget making huge spending cuts roughly the same size as the ones the governor tried to do unilaterally before he was rebuffed by the state supreme court.

Says Smith:

He will complete his two-term tenure at the end of this year having fulfilled his pledge not to raise taxes, with his approval ratings in positive territory, and having largely avoided the pragmatic compromises that often bedevil governors in polarized party primaries. His success gives him the accomplishments to match his conservative rhetoric, and set a high bar for other ambitious governors facing budget crises of their own in this lean year.