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It’s Friday the 13th. A lucky day for Utah. The rain has stopped and Hill Air Force Base is apparently safe. What a nice way to bring on the weekend.
Huntsman a Popular Guy
Gov. Jon Huntsman is the 5th most popular governor in the country, with an approval rating of 64%, according to SurveyUSA, a firm that uses recorded phone messages to conduct polling. That number is actually lower than Utah surveys show for the governor using traditional survey methods.
SurveyUSA surveyed 600 residents in each of the 50 states almost simultaneously. The results were reported by a number of publications. The poll indicated that Gov. John Hoeven of North Dakota is the nation’s most popular governor, with 71% approval, followed by South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (70%), Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (67%), Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell (66%) and Huntsman. Gov. Bob Taft of Ohio has the lowest approval rating (19%) in the nation, the poll found. Average approval rating for all governors was 48 percent.
New Jersey-based SurveyUSA mostly does quick polls for television stations, including KSL TV in Utah. The firm uses computers to dial telephone numbers at random, and a recorded voice asks questions to which voters respond by pressing numbers on their phones. Some traditional pollsters question the accuracy of that methodology.
Mitt Romney is 5th Among Insiders
National Journal has been publishing a lot of stories and columns about the 2008 presidential election. The weekly on government and politics published an interesting survey in which 216 political insiders, split among Republicans and Democrats, were asked to predict who will win their respective party’s 2008 presidential nomination.
Among Republican insiders, Virginia Sen. George Allen came in first, with 229 points and 19 first-place votes. He was followed closely by John McCain with 217 points and 19 first-place votes, then came Bill Frist, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Chuck Hagel and George Pataki.
Among Democratic insiders, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the runaway winner with 407 points and 68 first-place votes, followed by John Edwards with 205 points and 7 first-place votes. Then came Mark Warner, Evan Bayh, John Kerry, Bill Richardson, Tom Vilsack, Joseph Biden, Wesley Clark and Al Gore.
Both GOP and Demos Ignore Deficit
“There’s no one in Washington – no one with any power – trying to balance the budget. . . . No one wants to incur the bad publicity of taking away anything from anyone. . . Gone is any sense of shame about overspending and undertaxing.”
-- Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek columnist
Utah Needs a Barksdale to Offer a Utah Lagniappe
By Maura Carabello
My mom is from the great state of Mississippi, so I visited there often growing up, and I quite like the state. But when it comes to education and specifically per-pupil spending, you know what every good Utah teacher says: THANK GOODNESS FOR MISSISSIPPI.
But now Mississippi, which ranks 49th in per pupil spending (just below Utah), has an interesting offer on the table that may help the state move up the spending ladder.
NPR’s Market Place broadcasted a story a couple of days ago about former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale. He has offered to give his native state of Mississippi $50 million for students in public schools . . . on one condition. The state legislature has to fully fund the state’s pubic schools at a level committed previously. The story indicated Mississippi’s legislature, as well as well-known Gov. Haley Barbour, are somewhere between annoyed and offended by this carrot. In Mississippi they call it a lagniappe, an extra or unexpected gift.
So this raises a few questions: Is this public/private partnership a good deal? Don’t conservatives believe that whenever the private sector steps up it’s a positive thing? Or do even private gifts have to stay off the legislature’s turf? Even if Barksdale’s gift is only one-time money, I say take it. Education dollars are education dollars.
What I want to find out is what our state legislature would do with an offer like Barksdale’s.
So I’m putting out a challenge to all the multi-millionaires reading this: I’ll help with the leg work, public relations and the lobbying . . . you put up the money . . . and let’s see if we can keep Utah out of last place.
Casual Friday
Time For Spring Fishing
May is the traditional start of the spring fishing season. The streams are all running high and fast, of course, so stay away from them. However, some tailwater streams below dams, like the Green River below Flaming Gorge, should be fishable. Lakes and reservoirs after ice-off should be excellent. See May fishing report at www.redrockadventure.com. Also check out the Trib story about a 21-pound, 33-inch brown trout at Jordanelle.
Late Night Humor
"On Monday, President Bush attended Russia's celebration commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Allied Forces' victory over Nazi Germany. Bush and his host Vladimir Putin reportedly got along quite well during the event, except when at the end of the parade of Russian military troops and vehicles, George said, 'Is that all you got?' and busted out laughing." --Dennis Miller (Source: The Federalist Patriot)
David Letterman.... "Top Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before Eating A 15-Pound Cheeseburger": "Does this restaurant have a defibrillator?"; "Am I that hungry or should I order the 12-pound cheeseburger?"; "Does it come with fries?"; "Would it be easier to eat 60 quarter-pounders?"; "Can I get it on a low-carb bun?"; "How expensive is it to be buried in a piano case?"; "What am I going to have for dessert?"; "Can I super-size that?" |
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