Huntsman's vision for Utah
Utah has its problems, the governor said. And he was not timid about listing them. The state is growing at twice the national average, for instance; the marketplace is expanding, the tax structure is outdated and education is under-funded.
The state also has its strengths — human resources, research universities, entrepreneurial drive and geographic location among them.
Yet as expected, the governor — speaking from the original statehouse in Fillmore — was not so much interested in discussing the current state of affairs as laying out a road map to the future. And, to his credit, he articulated that vision in concrete terms and PowerPoint precision.
Drawing from a speech that Brigham Young delivered in the same building, the governor called education, industry, quality of life and governance into high relief. And though he proclaimed the economy to be "central," he spent the lion's share of his remarks on education. His goals, laudably, were clear and specific: better reading comprehension, support for beginning teachers, more money for classrooms and supplies, school choice, a link between education and local business and the kindling of more voluntarism.
The speech ended with anecdotes, stories of the "cafes, churches, ranches and high rises," as he said, where connections begin. It was the kind of speech Utahns enjoy and receive well. It didn't deliver a knockout, but it certainly put the governor ahead on points.
The true test comes now when Huntsman, the man with a plan, must begin to form coalitions, make compromises, bend wills to his own and strike bargains. In other words, the time for talk is over. It is time for the governor to govern.
Still, if the state's new chief executive can manage the intricacies of politics with the same aplomb and dexterity he displayed on Tuesday, Huntsman could be well on his way to establishing the "cooperation and community building" that will produce "a better people and a better state."
Poets and politicians, in the their youth, always begin in gladness.
Now, to borrow a biblical phrase, comes the refiner's fire.
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