Striving for Mediocrity

The Herald-Leader has pretty well summed up the Steve Beshear administration so far.

A year ago, amid a competitive Democratic primary for governor, Steve Beshear told a crowd of Hopkins County Democrats that he planned to be the second native of the county to become Kentucky's governor.

It was a bold declaration.

On Saturday night, amid a competitive Democratic primary for president, Beshear had the chance to make another strong political statement in front of his home crowd by endorsing in that race.

Instead, Beshear, who grew up in Dawson Springs, reiterated that he hasn't "quite made up my mind."

I originally thought the Beshear administration would be a care taker administration. But, so far Beshear’s actions and appointments have struggled to reach mediocre.

With the notable exception of pushing for casino’s, a train wreck of political incompetence, this administration has basically done nothing but give a bunch of Frankfort old timers jobs.

Beshear has dropped the ball a bunch of times. His coming late to the idea of raising the tobacco tax and his less than inspiring endorsement of restoring voting rights to former felons are but two examples.

So it’s no surprise his is taking the least politically dangerous route when it comes to supporting a presidential candidate.

If Steve Beshear wanted to make a bold move, or if he could just do math, he would follow Danny Briscoe’s advice.

Briscoe suggested that Beshear should back Obama regardless of how the Kentucky primary turns out because Obama mathematically looks to be the nominee with his lead in delegates.

"In Kentucky, clearly Clinton is going to win 2 to 1, but if the governor steps forward and says he's for Obama in a white, Southern state, that puts him in a position to be remembered by Barack Obama for a long time" if Obama wins the White House, Briscoe said.