RICHMOND
Hours after his landslide election victory, sleep-deprived Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell on Wednesday fielded congratulatory phone calls from well-wishers including President Barack Obama before meeting with a horde of reporters wanting to know his transition plans and what the Republican dominance on election night portends.
McDonnell said he'll launch a Web site next week allowing residents to track his progress during the transition. But he offered few details about what specific policy initiatives he'll tackle first.
"I just want everybody in Virginia to know that I intend to govern the same way I campaigned," McDonnell said. "I tried to tell people in a detailed way what we intend to do. And now that's it time to govern, I want to go about the business of getting results and accomplishing those goals."
A top priority, McDonnell said, is to create jobs and restore economic prosperity to a recession-ravaged state.
He has not yet been briefed on the budget, which has been reduced by $7 billion in recent years and faces at least a billion-dollar shortfall next year, analysts project. His aides weren't sure when that would occur.
McDonnell also has promised to finance state transportation needs without raising taxes, develop new energy industries, reform education, eliminate wasteful state spending and reduce excessive regulations.
How exactly he'll do all that, and in what order, remains to be seen. McDonnell said the groundwork for his aggressive policy agenda will be laid out "in excruciating detail" over the next few weeks.
"The constitution only gives you four years to accomplish things here as governor of Virginia. And I'm going to make sure that every act that I take in those early days will be looking at how we create more jobs, new opportunities so more of our citizens can have access to that American dream."
The former attorney general said his administration will include the best, hardest-working people "regardless of affiliation," though he declined to say whether his cabinet will include any Democrats.
Former Gov. Mark Warner and outgoing Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, both Democrats, appointed Republicans in their respective administrations.
Nor would McDonnell say whether he'll offer cabinet posts to some Senate Democrats in hopes of flipping the half of the legislature that Republicans don't control.
McDonnell deflected questions about what the election results mean and whether his victory makes him a rising GOP star. He said he is focused on charting a course through the "treacherous fiscal waters" in Virginia.
House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford County, called his party's gains in the state House of Delegates "a great morale booster" and a caution to conservative congressional Democrats up for election next year.
Still, this doesn't mean McDonnell will get a free pass, he said.
"The difficult economic times present a challenge for the governor and the legislature," he said, noting there's an inherent "natural tension" between those branches of government.
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
McDonnell modeled Obama
Did you read Kerry Dougherty's column in the Va. Pilot this morning? Great comparison on how Obama ran on hope, positive ideas, etc and so did McDonnell. Until now to many campaigns were run on fear and hate. Rove, Cheney and Bush were the masters of this negative style.
Hopefully, we have turned a corner and we will hear more positive discussion of ideas and less attacks. Deeds screwed up by not following Obama's lead as McDonnell did.
What I remember is Uhbama...
scaring people with predictions of seniors losing important health benefits if McCain were elected, how that even before it got bad we were in the worse economy since the great depression. How the rich were getting richer. Republican party was in bed with "big oil". Global warming and so on and so forth. That sure was a positive campaign wasn't it? HOPE? He didn't offer any "hope". He offered redistribution of wealth. He wasn't offering to teach someone how to fish only how to put a hand out and ask for more. No, the true masters are Clinton, Gore, Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, Michael Moore and don't forget Carville, Madow and Olberman. Deeds wouldn't have won no matter what style of campaign he ran.
Let's see odu,
Tarp was passed in Bush's term. Bush's tax cuts mostly benefited the well-to-do. Bush, Cheney & the gang rallied the country after 9-11 with lies & cowboy talk & led us to war with a nation which had absolutely nothing to do with 9-11. Bush allowed the quest for Bin- Laden in Afghanistan to go by the wayside as he put maximum efforts of our young men & women in uniform into Cheney's war of Halliburton profit in Iraq. He ignored what was going on with the internal economy here, which helped create the massive fall of the markets from 2007 till the early summer of this year, which also lead to the unemployment problem. Bush did do some things well. His handling of the economy & his warmongering aren't included in those things.
I wish governor elect McDonnel would
have told him to stick it in his ear. He should have said "We won and you lost..." just like Uhbama did to Eric Cantor and then hung up the phone! NOW Uhbama wants to talk to the Republicans! We did it and we didn't need a moveon.org, a george sorros or a michael moore to do it for us! WE VIRGINIANS have spoken loud and clear and may it be the "shout heard round the world"!
IT JUST DON'T MATTER ANYMORE
Look it does not matter anymore whether its Democrat, Republican, Independent, Whig, or whatever.
You can talk all you want about how your party is going to get the job done. The end result is what did you do that matter and did you listen to the people. In a country where there is clearly only two parties, each one talk the talk but I have yet seen it done. The exception to the rule was Gov. Warner, who cleaned the mess of two failed governor's who were Republican's.
Gov. Warner did cross across the aisles and he listened to the people. He did not become a cronie for his party.
So make no mistake about it. Republican's have a chance to do some things and we will see if they talk the walk and walk the walk. The first time I hear about taxes from their mouths, someone I hope will do what that Congressman did to Obama. Shout out "Liar!!!!" Eyes are upon you, don't screw it up.
You lie...boy?
Kinda sucks when you have racial words put in your mouth and then your career hangs on the line for speaking your mind. This is a typical desperate low life tactic from someone who is supposed to be a journalist.
maureen dowd
NY Times
"Surrounded by middle-aged white guys — a sepia snapshot of the days when such pols ran Washington like their own men’s club — Joe Wilson yelled “You lie!” at a president who didn’t.
But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!"
Guess what
Meet the new face of the Republican Party. Bob McDonnell for PRESIDENT. Lord knows we need credibility back in the White House.
The Return of credibility
We returned hope, honesty, logic and credibility to the White house last November. After 8 years of destroying Americas credibility, we instantly restored a lot of America's world standing when we elected President Obama. We should all be proud.
wait and see how he performs as governor first
Would it even matter to you if he is an abject failure? Would you want him to run in 2012 and campaign while he's supposed to be serving the state?
Are you so blinded by partisanship that it doesn't matter? Do you even think about what you post?
wow
Now we have Pat Robertson Jr. as the next governor. And look for Ralph Reed to be chief of staff.
actually,
multiple republican amendments were included in the different health care plans discussed. Republicans still refused to vote for them, ever. BTW, did you all notice that John Boehner quoted from the Declaration of Independence and claimed he was quoting the Constitution? He did that today while speaking to a group of "Tea Party" goers. Many other Republicans leaders stood behind him as he did this.
Did they say that in all 57
Did they say that in all 57 states? Well, 59 if you count Hawaii and Alaska.
how is it
that so many people don't understand that when they use the expression " I could care less", that they are in reality saying they care, possibly a lot. If 1 doesn't care, then 1 should say they "couldn't care less".
here is a thought
To echo those who are saying get over it and stop complaining, why don't you all go get law degrees, become politicians, and run for president one day...instead of bashing the presidents we have had.
Get over it people, and just show some respect for the people who America believed were good enough to run our country, past and present. Let them do their jobs, be it president or governer elect...there is a reason why no political office is held for only a year.
If you think you all know everything about every issue in the state or country, try spending a day in their shoes, and see how it really is.
Re-election
I'm not worried about Obama in 2012, he will get elected again. It's only eight months into his term and you so called FOX NEWS CRONNIES already repeating what those idiots says. Time will tell. Heaven knows you better hope to see 2012 with all your predictions in the future. Because I read such hate in you'll blogs, it is so ridiculous. Go OBAMA
And what did George W Bush do his first year in office????
"pLamastra on Thu, 11/05/2009 at 11:22 am.
"And for you Obama haters, 10 months is no time at all to clean up the mess left behind"
"I am soooooooo SICK of hearing this! ALL he has done is spend our money with his(OUR)blank check book! He has NOT kept even one promise from his campaign BS! But the young and the minorities who DID NOT Vote Tuesday, belived all of his false promises that we will have a country of "Freebies"!
The only thing Bush did his first year in office WAS TAKE VACATIONS.
vacation
It's naive to believe a President is ever actually on vacation.
Bush's first yesr in office
Bush has been out of office nearly a year and became a lame duck the day Obama was elected.
Tarp was an Obama Bill passed by a democratic Congress.
So why is it you Obamites attack Bush when things don't go your way?
What dis Bush do in his first year in office?
Pass a major tax cut including doubling the child tax credit from $500.00 to $1000.00 - helped a lot of working mothers.
Passed a major education bill which local unions don't like because it requires some accountability but was better than what Clinton did NOTHING.
Rallyied the country after 9-11.
Go drink another glass of Obama Kool Aid - And just to drive you crazy
Palin-McDonnell in 2012!!
Palin or Bush 2
Palin would be the female version of Bush only dumber. What a scarey thought! I have some respect for McDonnell, I hope he would not be so stupid as to hook up with Palin.
456 days in Crawford, Texas
George Bush spent 456 days on vacation, including during Hurricane Katrina. So when American citizens were drowning, Bush was in Crawford clearing brush.