Tim Pawlenty

PHILADELPHIA -- After a weekend in which he seemed to relish the role of playing host, Gov. Ed Rendell this morning was formally named chairman of the National Governors Association, continuing a political rise that has gained steam in recent months.

Assuming the organization's leadership during the closing meeting of its annual conference here, Rendell reitereated that the emphasis of his year-long tenure as chair would be on repairing the nation's crumbling infrastructure. Infrastructure has long been a pet issue of his in Pennsylvania.

“It is not the sexiest of issues," Rendell acknowledged. "It certainly doesn’t compete with health care an energy on the radar screen … but in many ways it’s as important as any single thing we can do.

"Now is the time when we can repair our nation’s infrastructure for significantly less than it will cost us 5 years down the road," he added.