When George W. Bush and Ruth Ann Minner were running for office last fall, one of them kept talking about bipartisanship. Minner, who might have gone through an entire campaign without uttering the word, last week unveiled an agenda that struck nearly every member of the General Assembly as a blueprint for sensible government. It obviously takes two to bicker, and the John Ashcroft nomination was a lot closer to gasoline on the fire than oil on the waters. Only one token Democrat was offered a position. But Cabinet appointments are just a sideshow.
Policy provides the real test of bipartisanship.
You'll notice the politicians never suggest they themselves be held accountable, and anyway, the accounting won't take place for years. The tough question is tax policy, and Minner aced it last week. The state's economy, like the nation's, has been slowing since spring. In Delaware, where the numbers are calculated frequently and carefully, surpluses are expected to shrink to one-quarter the amount common in recent years. Minner has responded by calling for belt-tightening in every area of state government.