He is even willing to copy other successful governors. Unfortunately, he has picked a questionable idea as his centerpiece. Mr. Siegelman's pitch is to impose a voluntary tax on our most vulnerable citizens through a state lottery, which would pay for college scholarships. The answer, of course, is that Mr. Siegelman wasn't about to sacrifice any of his political capital by acting like a statesman. He exemplifies the politician who works hard to win an office but then can't think of much useful to do with it.
Good ideas are out there.
Our politicians just aren't willing yet to seize them, either because they live in the past, as does Mr. James, or they fear the consequences of sounding too bold and visionary, as may be the case with Mr. Siegelman. No longer the nation's problem child, the region is an emerging powerhouse, where one out of three Americans now lives. Immigration from places like Latin America and Asia is changing the face of the South, while expanding industries are closing the wage gap with the rest of the nation. But our state provides no successful model for this emerging New South. Indeed, this generation of Alabamians has failed even to elect a governor worthy of regional respect.