Time - Americas 5 Best Governors.

[Gabu]

Philly Bredesen definately belongs on the "Worst" list.

You were praising him as the best Governor in decades no more than a couple months ago.  What happend?

Don realized he was a Democrat.

[Ben.]

Why Sanford?  From everything I've heard, he's been a decent Governor.

Yeah… Its very very odd indeed, Sanford got sky high approvals in SC and has been doing a lot to put the state’s financial house in order.

How the hell do the likes of Erine Fletcher, Rod Blagojevich, Frank Murkowski get rated higher than a generally hard working and effective governor like Sanford?!?

Also, what Janet Napolitano is doing in the top five I don’t know, she’s a good governor but she isn’t exceptional, folks like Vilsack, Easley and Pawlenty should be rated way before her IMHO.

Though I’d agree with Huckabee and Warner        

[bgwah]

I'm surprised Gregoire hasn't been mentioned as one of the worst! But to be fair, excluding the election fiasco, she's been a decent governor. But it still seems like everybody hates her, despite her approval ratings being the 40s now, as opposed to the 30s she was stuck with for a while.

[Ben.]

Ehrlich's been a pretty crappy governor in Maryland.  What has he done, other than trying to get legalized slot machines?

Yeah, well, they left off Arnold too, so not every sh**tty governor was able to make the sh**tty governor list.

Arnold isn't a bad governor. Arnold’s problem is that having been elected on a platform to reform the state and convert it from being a national “basket case”, he now finds himself unable to push forward the very reforms he was elected to enact… which to my mind is pretty bizarre, all the same if California wants to vote against its economic interests and try and maintain some kind of one party dominated, social market never land… then they can go right ahead.

I should stress that California isn’t the only state with problems originating from a long period of one party rule, corruption, high or low taxation and poor public services… Texas and Ohio both spring to mind.

Meanwhile Arnold’s actual running of the state, the defeat of the initiatives aside,  has not been bad in of itself, he’s competent and his administration is relatively “clean”, in contrast to governors like Taft, Fletcher, Blagojevich etc… who deserve to be listed amongst the countries’ worst. And I repeat that how and effective and popular governor like Sanford was listed as one of the worst in the country baffles me!

Returning to the issue of the reforms proposed by Arnold in his propositions, it was the same kind of test which Mark Warner had faced with helping Virginia’s education system and overcoming a big republican majority in the state house and senate… I would argue that Arnie’s task was even harder, but California needs reform urgently and so far all his opponents can offer is farcical arguments that the status-quo is working, unlike Warner and other governors Arnie would seem to have failed this big test of imposing your program over often stiff opposition.

[Democratic Hawk]

Ehrlich's been a pretty crappy governor in Maryland.  What has he done, other than trying to get legalized slot machines?

Yeah, well, they left off Arnold too, so not every sh**tty governor was able to make the sh**tty governor list.

Arnold isn't a bad governor

I just find him too much of a gimmick to even begin to take him seriously. Still, elements of California Democratic Party and state legislature have gone a bit mad over the years

For the time being, Californian's don't seem to be enamored with him. I'd like California to have a good competent Democratic governor

Dave

[ian]

That is vile.

[Cubby]

I'm just glad that Jodi Rell didn't make the list. Everyone raves about her, yet the only thing she's done is to NOT be John Rowland. Its not like she has any accomplishments, except her ridiculous approval rating.

[Alcon]

I'm just glad that Jodi Rell didn't make the list. Everyone raves about her, yet the only thing she's done is to NOT be John Rowland. Its not like she has any accomplishments, except her ridiculous approval rating.

She did do a good job of cleaning up after Rowland's administration.

[The Duke]

So a Republican makes the list for raising taxes in a state that has gobs of gambling revenue?  Kenny Guinn can buzz off.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

So a Republican makes the list for raising taxes in a state that has gobs of gambling revenue?  Kenny Guinn can buzz off.

Unlike your boss, not every Republican governor is an extremist.

[The Duke]

So a Republican makes the list for raising taxes in a state that has gobs of gambling revenue?  Kenny Guinn can buzz off.

Unlike your boss, not every Republican governor is an extremist.

The extremist who favors civil unions for gays and legalized abortion?  K.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

So a Republican makes the list for raising taxes in a state that has gobs of gambling revenue?  Kenny Guinn can buzz off.

Unlike your boss, not every Republican governor is an extremist.

The extremist who favors civil unions for gays and legalized abortion?  K.

The moderate who supports closing the worst deficit in a state in US history by cutting taxes by $4 billion? K.

[A18]

Not supporting the largest tax increase in state history would be extremist?

[Virginian87]

Not supporting the largest tax increase in state history would be extremist?

No, but trying to solve problems with a deficit through tax cuts is just ludicrous.

[The Duke]

So a Republican makes the list for raising taxes in a state that has gobs of gambling revenue?  Kenny Guinn can buzz off.

Unlike your boss, not every Republican governor is an extremist.

The extremist who favors civil unions for gays and legalized abortion?  K.

The moderate who supports closing the worst deficit in a state in US history by cutting taxes by $4 billion? K.

Not supporting the largest tax increase in state history would be extremist?

No, but trying to solve problems with a deficit through tax cuts is just ludicrous.

WRONG!!  We did balance the budget while cutting taxes by $4 billion, increasing education spending, and creating a $3 billion bond for ground breaking medical research.

[Storebought]

I'm just satisfied that Blanco made the "Worst" list. The passes she has received from the national media were sickening.

I'm also preemptively adding Jon Corzine to the "Worst" list as well.

[WalterMitty]

I'm also preemptively adding Jon Corzine to the "Worst" list as well.

good thinking!

[elcorazon]

Blagojevich is pretty bad... Illinois has had a run of bad governors actually.

[TheresNoMoney]

I'm also preemptively adding Jon Corzine to the "Worst" list as well.

Corzine is a true progressive and will end up being one of the best governors in the country.

[Cubby]

I'm just glad that Jodi Rell didn't make the list. Everyone raves about her, yet the only thing she's done is to NOT be John Rowland. Its not like she has any accomplishments, except her ridiculous approval rating.

She did do a good job of cleaning up after Rowland's administration.

Thats just it, the only way she has done that is by not doing anything. Its like having Mamie Eisenhower as your Governor, only with civil unions and an evil execution (I still can't believe my state executed someone, it boggles the mind).

[Q]

I'm just glad that Jodi Rell didn't make the list. Everyone raves about her, yet the only thing she's done is to NOT be John Rowland. Its not like she has any accomplishments, except her ridiculous approval rating.

She did do a good job of cleaning up after Rowland's administration.

Thats just it, the only way she has done that is by not doing anything. Its like having Mamie Eisenhower as your Governor, only with civil unions and an evil execution (I still can't believe my state executed someone, it boggles the mind).

Jodi's better than any of the Dems currently running, you surely must admit.

[Alcon]

I'm just glad that Jodi Rell didn't make the list. Everyone raves about her, yet the only thing she's done is to NOT be John Rowland. Its not like she has any accomplishments, except her ridiculous approval rating.

She did do a good job of cleaning up after Rowland's administration.

Thats just it, the only way she has done that is by not doing anything. Its like having Mamie Eisenhower as your Governor, only with civil unions and an evil execution (I still can't believe my state executed someone, it boggles the mind).

Ridding an entire administration of corruption is not nothing.

[Q]

Ridding an entire administration of corruption is not nothing.

Much as I like her, I must wonder how she was completely unaware of what was going on in the office right next to hers...

[Alcon]

Ridding an entire administration of corruption is not nothing.

Much as I like her, I must wonder how she was completely unaware of what was going on in the office right next to hers...

That's true, although I get the impression that Governors oftentimes rarely interact with Lieutenant Governors.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Why Sanford?  From everything I've heard, he's been a decent Governor.

Yeah… Its very very odd indeed, Sanford got sky high approvals in SC and has been doing a lot to put the state’s financial house in order.

You're kidding me, right?

In a recent Survey USA poll, Sanford had a 49% approval and 43% disapproval rating, that's only sky-high if one uses Bush as your measuring stick.

Secondly, South Carolina never got into the serious fiscal problems that some states got into during our recent recession thanks to South Carolina's dirty little secret to keeping a AAA credit rating, the Budget and Control Board.  The BCB has five members, the Governor, the Treasuer, the Comptroller General, and one person each picked by the House and the Senate.  (The treasuer and the CG are directly elected as constitutional officiers so they aren't beholden to the Governor as they might be in some states.)  If revenue doesn't meet expectations, the BCB has the authority (indeed the obligation)  to cut spending mid fiscal year so as to keep the state from running a deficit.