posted by Josh Goodman
Sometimes a word is worth a thousand words. 
That's certainly been true during the latest round of governors' State of the State addresses. You can learn a lot during these speeches simply by listening for the one word or phrase that a governor repeats over and over.
And over. Consider:
* California's Arnold Schwarzenegger used "together" five times in his speech, as in, "If we work together, there is literally no problem we cannot solve." He's trying to strike a more conciliatory tone this year in order to persuade voters to give him a second term.
* Washington's Christine Gregoire referred to her dog "Franz" three times. Republicans have claimed that it's inappropriate for state troopers to be assigned to protect Franz from "raccoons, coyotes and possums." Gregoire offered an impassioned defense, stating, "Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family doesn't resent attacks, but Franz does resent them."
* Illinois' embattled governor, Rod Blagojevich, mentioned "health" a whopping 32 times. He's hoping to parlay proposals to expand access to health care into a reelection victory.
* George Pataki of New York mentioned "tax," "taxes" or "taxpayers" a grand total of 35 times, saying such things as, "We've led the nation in cutting taxes." Pataki is touting his fiscal conservative credentials in preparation for a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
* Arizona's Janet Napolitano referred to "border" or "borders" 15 times. She's a favorite for reelection partially because she's taken a fairly tough stance against illegal immigration for a Democrat.
* Bob Riley of Alabama said "pray" or "prayers" four times. Riley faces a challenge in the Republican primary from former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, an icon for many Christian conservatives in the state. Riley is no election year convert, however. He quoted a passage from Proverbs in his 2004 State of the State speech.
* Virginia's new governor, Tim Kaine, mentioned "transportation" 43 times in his first address to the legislature. Transportation funding will be the central issue in the state for the next few months.
* Keep an eye on Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's State of the State speech later this month. Last year she said "jobs" 52 times. That will be a tough record to beat.
Gregorie is plagerizing an FDR quip. During the 1940 Election he was accused of sending a navy ship to retrieve his scottish terrier Falla. His response was in a similar vein.
Posted by: Matt Littman | Monday, January 23, 2006 at 10:16 AM
The "Fala" quip -- craftily designed to be the highlight of one FDR's few major campaign appearances in 1944 -- was a play on an episode related to his secret meeting with Winston Churchill aboard a naval vessel off the coast of Newfoundland in the summer of 1941.
Posted by: David Sturrock | Monday, January 23, 2006 at 07:07 PM
Gregoire said in the speech, "I’d like to paraphrase from a speech delivered in 1944 by President Franklin Roosevelt." The sentence I quoted in the post was taken verbatim from Roosevelt's speech, except of course with "Franz" substituted for "Fala." Here's a site with more information on Fala, who, in my opinion, was a much cuter dog than Franz: http://bushybarney.tripod.com/fala.htm
Posted by: Josh | Monday, January 23, 2006 at 07:21 PM