Gov. Mitch Daniels(R-IN) in his yearly address to the state assembly said little to surprise his audience tonight. Speaking to a new democratic majority, Daniels in more than one instance, resigned himself to conciliatory declarations of past partisanship, clearly attempting to mend prior wounds so as to move onward with his gubernatorial agenda. The IndyStar writes:
In his third State of the State address, Daniels repeatedly told legislators that without bipartisan cooperation, Indiana faced stalemate. And he apologized -- though the word "sorry" never crossed his lips -- for any failure on his part in the past to foster that cooperation he now seeks.
Whats more telling though is the concession by Daniels that many of his ideas were first championed by Democrats:
"Cooperation requires giving credit where it is due. This proposal came first from members of the Democratic party. It was your governors, and many of your legislators still serving, who first advanced and attempted this step. You were right," he told the 51 House Democrats and 17 Senate Democrats sitting before him in the House chamber.
Perhaps Daniels speaks honestly about his desire for both parties to come together. I suspect however a more probable explanation exists within his desire to gain the favor of a distraught Indiana citizenry, who in recent months have increasingly jumped ranks and voiced considerable concern for his handling of the Indiana statehouse. Something tells me Daniels won't be the only governor to pull such a maneuver. In the aftermath of the midterm elections, many state majorities moved to opposite sides of the aisle, and many state and federal representatives have scrambled to gain back the favor of their electorate. Something tells me such a trend is going to play itself out on a much bigger front very soon. Indeed I would tune in for President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 23 to see for yourself.