Leave a legacy, Gov. Granholm

The worst kept secret in Lansing this year has been how much Jennifer Granholm wanted to skip town -- and how badly folks from both parties were dying for her to do just that.

After the governor was named to Barack Obama's economic transition team, most of Lansing's chattering class considered her a lock for a cabinet post. Evidently, the New York Times was convinced enough to run a cover story and all the networks came calling.

Around the corridors of the Capitol, Democrats could be seen crossing their fingers that the governor's name would be announced. And Republicans grumbled that although she certainly wasn't qualified for Labor or Energy Secretary, Granholm could sell anything.

The general sentiment among legislators was that they'd love to spend the next two years working with Lt. Gov. John Cherry, especially with the sorry shape the budget's in. And Democrats relished the idea of him waltzing into the 2010 election as an incumbent.

But after weeks of Obama's methodically laudatory press conferences, which had to be a form of Chinese water torture for the guv, she surfaced with bupkis.

Last week, she quickly put out the word that she wanted to stick it out here, "given all the crises Michigan is facing." But it was painfully clear that Granholm had been passed over for Labor and was allowed this face-saving gesture by Team Obama. Sure enough, a California congresswoman nabbed the post two days later.

That's not to say Granholm will walk away empty-handed in the long-run. Not all cabinet nominees make it through the confirmation process or serve a full term. And after her rave reviews for conducting the Kwame Kilpatrick hearing this summer, she'll certainly be on the federal bench list.

But it's a significant blow. Republicans will undoubtedly try to pounce on her weakness in negotiations, although after the beating they took on Nov. 4, they're pretty anemic themselves.

The more salient issue is why so many lawmakers of both parties were terribly eager to throw the governor a goodbye party.

In reality, this sentiment really isn't anything new; it's just reached a fever pitch after last year's government shutdown and it looked like Obama was generously posing a way out.

Granholm arrived at the governor's mansion via the attorney general's office, not the Capitol, and her lack of legislative experience has always caused tension. Like Bill Clinton in 1993, the governor frankly didn't get how the process worked and it's cost her dearly.

She's made deals that she's quickly reneged on, as even Democrats gripe, which has long eroded trust with lawmakers. Now that Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, is hightailing it to D.C., she's lost her biggest legislative ally. House Democrats are far more loyal to Speaker Andy Dillon than to her, something of which she's well aware.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, has a visceral disdain for Granholm. He recently sniffed to the Wall Street Journal that she "likes to be governor more than she likes to governs," which is kind of like Ken calling out Barbie for vanity.

All this means that we can look forward to a couple of years of fabulous friction, as 2009's budget hole is at least $265 million and 2010's is a jaw-dropping $1.5 billion, unless Obama's federal stimulus saves the day. Granholm, Dillon and Bishop are all term-limited, as well as a good chunk of the House and all but eight senators, which means a lot of folks will be lookin' for work instead of workin' full-time for Michigan.

Out of crisis can emerge great leaders. There seems little hope for that in the Mitten State, if the '07 government shutdown is any guide. But it's legacy-building time and this is the governor's shot.

Few honest Republicans would dispute that she is immensely intelligent, persuasive and personable. No one is more aware of the problems Michigan faces than she is.

So in her final two years, Granholm should draw on her talents and be the leader she has always had the potential to be. Start with slashing the bloated Corrections budget and dumping the Michigan Business Tax surcharge. Revisit the idea of doubling the number of college graduates by 2015 and make sure we're on track. Have the courage to fix the structural budget deficit by pushing for a ballot question on a graduated income tax.

For years, Michigan has passed a slew of economic development measures to lure new businesses. The time now is to look long-term for the state's fiscal health.

None of this will guarantee her a job with Obama. In reality, it probably won't help much. Her polls numbers aren't going anywhere but down as the economy plunges south.

What will help is that Granholm has the highest national profile of any governor in modern Michigan history. She'll continue to get invites for "Larry King" and "Good Morning America" about the Big Three. It would be very tempting to rely on that exposure to net her next job.

But that won't do a damn thing for Michigan.

Granholm promised to "never stop fighting" for us. It's been six long years and talk is cheap. Governor, the time to act is now.

Michigan's educational motto? Dumb it down

It wouldn't be a campaign stop without the requisite hard-luck story. And Stephanie Baker stepped up to the plate at Barack Obama's town hall meeting in Taylor last week.

She wanted to know what Obama would do to help her daughter maintain her financial aid even though her GPA had slipped.

What was his mealy-mouthed, bleeding-heart liberal response?

"There is no excuse. She's got to keep her grades up. She's got to work harder. I'm willing to bet she's probably watched some TV in the past couple of months, went to the movies, hung out with her girlfriends," the presumptive Democratic nominee said. "She's got to keep her grades up so she can keep her financial aid."

Amen to that.

Perhaps Stephanie's met Cindy Timmons, whose high school freshman son just flunked five classes. Cindy trekked down from Grayling to Lansing last week to plead with a House panel to spike tougher class requirements so her boy could graduate.

Nobody told her to hire a tutor. Nobody told her the cold, hard truth: That it really doesn't matter if her son drops out or graduates high school - he'll be looking at minimum-wage jobs and double-digit unemployment either way. Increasingly, the only road to a middle-class life is a college degree - or two or three.

Three years ago, a commission chaired by Lt. Gov. John Cherry issued a stellar report on the state of education in Michigan and what to do about it. Among the 19 recommendations was doubling the number of college graduates by 2015 and beefing up high school graduation requirements to prepare kids for the knowledge-based economy.

The world and its economy are changing. The Mitten State can change with it or our students can be left behind. I suggest that Stephanie and Cindy make the Cherry Commission report required reading for themselves and their children.

Fortunately for them, there are pandering politicians armed with quick fixes. God bless election years.

State Reps. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, and Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, are on mission to muck up Michigan's education system even more, as though slashing higher education spending for years hasn't done enough.

Their motto for the state? Dumb it down.

The GOP-led Legislature admirably passed in 2006 some of the toughest high school graduation requirements in the country, which included two years of foreign language, four of English and three of math. Kids who take high-level math in high school, for instance, are much more likely to go to college.

Sheltrown says it's time to give up already and hand out consolation prizes to the non-college bound, an easier "general diploma curriculum." That and a couple bucks will buy you a cup of coffee (though not at Starbuck's).

He amusingly passed out a pop quiz on Algebra II to lawmakers last week, which most flunked.

Well, duh. Anyone who watched the budget debacle last year knows that math ain't legislators' strong suit. Let's set the bar a little higher for our children, folks.

While Sheltrown tries to hobble our high schools, Jones wants to stunt our world-class universities, especially the University of Michigan.

Jones, best known for holding nonstop press conferences and proposing legislation to "save Christmas," tells his own sob story about a rural teacher whose students just can't get into the UM.

I knew that as a personal responsibility kind of guy and former sheriff, Jones would dole out the tough medicine. Kids need to study harder. Parents have to get more involved. The school needs to change its teaching requirements and curriculum pronto.

Nope. "That's not fair!" cries Jones, an alleged conservative, who should probably chat with Obama.

Under his legislation, public universities would be required to accept the top 10 percent of all Michigan high school classes. In other words: Let's reward mediocrity.

You've got to be kidding me. When our college graduation rate is an abysmal 25 percent and college remedial classes are already crammed, this is the last thing we need. Our 15 universities are some of the only bright spots in our state, clouded by 8.5 percent unemployment and a decaying auto industry.

Universities compete on a global scale. If we dilute the talent pool in Michigan schools, those in California, Texas and India will inevitably gain.

Weakening his case further, Jones rails about the U-M accepting so many Red Chinese instead of red-blooded Michiganders. He's teamed up with a self-described "disgruntled employee," UM Professor Bill Kauffman, who ventures into conspiracy-theory land about Chinese students stealing national security secrets, citing YouTube videos as evidence.

Let's face it: Some high schools are better than others and do a superior job of preparing students for college success. The beauty of the Michigan Merit Curriculum that Sheltrown is trying to dismantle is it attempts to hoist all schools to a high standard, which in turn, increases students' odds of being accepted to U-M and other colleges.

Look, there are no easy answers to Michigan's educational quandaries. Anyone who tells you differently is trying to get elected.