Halfway through his term, Wednesday night marked Governor's Bob McDonnell's best chance to craft his own agenda. As you might expect, we heard praise from Republicans and skepticism from Virginia Democrats.
Governor McDonnell had a bold message to his fellow lawmakers Wednesday night in his State of the Commonwealth Address. "To the members in the majority I say, 'Don't be arrogant. Don't overreach,'" he said.
The governor's supporters say McDonnell set the right tone, challenging lawmakers to tackle tough issues.
"To the members in the minority: Don't be angry. Don't obstruct. To all of us: let's be civil and productive," he continued.
The governor reached out to Democrats in areas where they might find common ground.
Greg Habeeb, the Republican from Salem, says, "He's got a bold vision and we're looking forward to working with him. We don't agree on 100 percent of the things, but I think we can get a lot of great things accomplished."
Democratic 11th District Roanoke Delegate Onzlee Ware added, "I'm not going to be in too much protest right now, because I know it's a long wayn to go in the next 60 days. I hope we finish in 60 but we have a ways to go."
Republicans applauded what they described as an ambitious agenda. Democrats said they remain skeptical of his plan to devote more general fund money for transportation.
Republican Delegate Ben Cline of the 24th District Rockbridge County adds, "The people of Virginia don't want a stalemate. They don't want a deadlock. They want progress, so it's up to the Democrats to step up and actually work with us, rather than just obstruct, obstruct, obstruct."
We'll see how that plays out over the next 60 days, especially in the State Senate, where the lieutenant governor's tie breaker has given Republicans a working majority.
Another part of the State of the Commonwealth Address has to do with what the governor didn't say.
He spoke of making Virginia the energy capital of the east coast, but didn't mention the future of uranium mining.
He's still undecided on that.
