NEW ULM — Gov. Tim Pawlenty has spoken to crowds in Arkansas, Colorado, California, Illinois, Florida, New Jersey and Virginia in recent months.

On Thursday, it was New Ulm.

The Republican governor’s nationwide travel has reinforced the widespread belief that he’s serious about running for president. And that prospect probably added a bit of energy to the meeting at the New Ulm Country Club, which attracted nearly 100 area business owners and other Chamber of Commerce members.

“Of course it does,” said state Rep. Paul Torkelson, who helped organize Thursday’s event at the request of the governor’s office. “And I’m thrilled that we have the governor of Minnesota being considered a potential presidential candidate. ... I hope he pursues it full tilt.”

The purpose of the meeting, dubbed a Job Growth Summit, was to hear the opinions and ideas of area business people on ways to improve Minnesota’s business climate, said Torkelson, R-St. James. So the discussion was intended to focus on state issues and on the 2010 legislative session, which begins in February.

But the potential national ambitions of Pawlenty, who announced in June he wouldn’t be seeking a third term as governor, were on the minds of the people in the crowd.

A Sleepy Eye businesswoman captured both aspects of the 75-minute meeting in her comments. She talked about how government agencies in Minnesota seem to still be growing even as private businesses struggle to survive.

“If I’m always competing against the government, the best thing I can do is go work for the government,” she said. “Unless you can promise, when you’re president in Washington ... ”

The rest of her comment was drowned out by the resulting applause.

Pawlenty didn’t specifically address his interest in seeking the Republican nomination for president. After the meeting, he continued his habit of not even acknowledging he’s thinking about running — even though a key adviser, former Minnesota Congressman Vin Weber, said recently that Pawlenty is carefully considering a run.

Many of the governor’s comments Thursday involved warnings and criticism of entitlement programs that promise more in payments in coming decades than can be met, of lawmakers and public employees wedded to the status quo, of Democrats who would stifle businesses with rising taxes and onerous regulations.

Pawlenty also talked about reforming health care, saying costs won’t be contained if people don’t feel any financial impact from the choices they make when getting health-care services. He compared it to what would happen if he told everyone at the meeting to stop on their way home at a local store, pick out a television and have the store send the bill to the governor’s mansion.

“How many of you would show up at your home with a 12-inch black and white?” Pawlenty wondered.

After hearing Pawlenty’s comments, Torkelson made a smiling observation.

“Many of these issues you talk about have some national scope to them and that’s very interesting,” Torkelson said.

Pawlenty insisted that his focus is on Minnesota, the upcoming legislative session and his desire to make sure the state’s businesses — its job creators — are protected from rising taxes and other costs. With one more legislative session in front of him, he also seems primed for another battle with the DFL-dominated Legislature.

The even-numbered years have traditionally been the time for a major construction funding bill, and Democrats would like to see a bill approaching $1 billion to create jobs and fix the state’s infrastructure. In a brief conversation with reporters, Pawlenty made it clear he disagrees.

“I have a news flash for my DFL friends, we’re having an economic crisis,” he said, adding that he would support a considerably smaller list of construction projects.

There may be more budget cutting to do as well if the next budget forecast, due in a little over a month, projects that tax revenues are coming in below previous estimates.

“It could be substantial,” he said of the budget adjustments required in the 2010 session. “We won’t know until the November forecast.”