It's so easy to be the governor...

It happens at every level. Well-meaning (we hope) people seek office with clear ideas of what they want to do, but with little chance of doing it.
A candidate for Congress will tell you what he or she stands for, but once elected will do whatever party leadership demands. To the voter, that means you choose between someone who votes with the Democrats every time or with the Republicans.

Candidates often inadvertently put themselves in a corner because they don’t fully understand the intricacies of the job they seek.
That’s what happened to Barack Obama. The pledges to close down the prison at Guantanamo and to reverse Bush policies on holding terror suspects come to mind. Turns out that being president is much more complex than it seems from the outside, the options are fewer and the decisions tougher. Go figure.

Or, the candidates know of the disconnect but ignore it.

To hear Roy Barnes, DuBose Porter and David Poythress speak, you’d not know there was a recession. Of course they damned Sonny Perdue in particular and Republicans in general for what they’ve done to education. I happen to concur, but the fact is, Georgia didn’t have the money to fund education to the level it has in the past, and the next budget year will be much worse. All of the Democratic candidates acted as if under their tenure adequate funding will be available.

They know better. All three also know that should they win the office, their ability to do anything will be hampered by a Republican-controlled legislature. The governor has power and influence, but there’s only so much he can do without the consent of the legislature.

It makes better theater to pronounce: “If I’m elected governor, that will change,” as Barnes did while noting that local school boards have had to increase property taxes because of reduced funding for education, but it makes it harder to keep your promises.

Barnes gave a good speech, but the image of a governorship he presented is a far cry from the reality he’ll face if elected. That’s the nature of politics, whether the candidate is Red or Blue.

What could he say? “If I’m elected governor and the General Assembly will go along with me, that will change?”

You don’t get elected with that kind of honesty.

Mark Beardsley is editor of The Commerce News. He lives in Commerce