Traverse City Record-Eagle

Opinion Columnists

May 1, 2011

Op-Ed: Governors are coming on strong

BY GEORGE WEEKS Local columnist

Seventeen governors have become president -- starting with Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and most recently George W. Bush of Texas.

Governors with Michigan ties made a stab at the presidency -- including Michigan territorial Gov. Lewis Cass, the Democratic presidential in 1848; Owosso-born New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, the 1948 Republican nominee; and Michigan Gov. George Romney, who sought the Republican nomination in 1968.

Romney's son, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is in the front tier of prospects for the 2012 GOP nomination, as he was in 2008 when he won the Michigan primary but lost the nomination to Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Governors past and present abound in the current field of potential Republican challengers of President Barack Obama, the first U.S. senator to become president since 1963-69 President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Last week, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour dropped out of the GOP race, saying he lacked the necessary "absolute fire in the belly to run." Too bad. He's been successful in the statehouse and had potential for the White House, despite low early polling.

Another well-credentialed current GOP governor, Mitch Daniels of Indiana, also lags in polls and as of this writing had not decided whether to run.

Daniels is savvy on national budget issues. When he was director of the Office of Management under President George W. Bush he was known as a budget cutter -- "the Blade," some Bush insiders called him.

Out of 13 in the GOP crop of White House aspirants in mid-April Gallup polling of 1,047 Republicans reported by the Wall Street Journal, seven were past or present governors.

Leading the poll with the support of 16 percent of the respondents were ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who may well not run again as he did in 2008; and Donald Trump, who certainly has name identification.

(Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer said it well of Trump: "He's not a candidate, he's a spectacle. ... A provocateur and a clown, the Republicans' Al Sharpton. The Lions have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl.") Ouch.

Others with gubernatorial experience in the speculative mix are:

• Ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (10 percent in the Gallup Poll), McCain's 2008 running mate.

• Ex-Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (3 percent).

• Ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (1 percent), who has been Obama's ambassador to China and is expected to announce his intentions in May.

Among Republicans who said they will not run for president next year are former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and current New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Snyder's special messages

Wisely, Gov. Rick Snyder is following up his first State of the State Address with a series of special messages.

After a message on local government, he offered a welcome one last week on education that included a broader proposal on school choice than has ever been advanced by a Michigan governor.

In a sobering assessment, Synder said: "Michigan's education system is not giving our taxpayers, our teachers or our students the return on investment we deserve."

There's a possibility that Snyder also will have a special message on the environment, a subject he has barely addressed as governor.

Cleaner water?

Having been critical of the Obama administration for dithering on decisive action to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes, it is good to note that national and Michigan leaders of the Clean Water Action grass-roots organization praised last week's announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection of a new proposal to close gaps in water and health protection under the Clean Water Act.

"This will go a long way toward fixing the Clean Water Act, a law that has been broken for far too long," said Robert Wendelgass, president of the organization.

"Polluter-friendly court decisions and actions by the previous administration have left drinking water sources for 117 million Americans at risk," he added.

Michigan Director Cyndi Roper said, "Our members are a cross-section of America, from cities and suburbs to rural areas, Democrats, Republicans and independent. We all want clean water."

George Weeks, a member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, for 22 years was the political columnist for The Detroit News and previously was with UPI.

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