May 27, 2004

President In Town

President Bush was today for a Republican campaign fundraiser. Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, greeted him at Nashville International Airport.

That's interesting. Bredesen is a centrist Democrat who has governed Tennessee like a conservative these last two years, balancing budgets by cutting spending rather than raising taxes, earning himself a glittering 70 percent-plus approval rating. A Democrat can't get to 70 percent in Tennessee without a lot of Republican support.

Bredesen has helped Democrats running for state offices, but he's not been overly partisan. And - notably - he has kept a low profile in the presidential campaign, deflecting media inquiries about the race by saying he was busy governing Tennessee.

I believe it was Gov. Ned McWherter, another Democrat, who once made sure to be out of town - on a fishing trip, if I recall correctly - when then-presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, another Massachusetts liberal, brought his campaign to Tennessee. McWherter knew which way the political wind was blowing in Tennessee. Bredesen, perhaps the most informed and hands-on governor Tennessee has ever had, no doubt also knows which way the political wind is blowing in Tennessee.

Bredesen didn't have to greet Bush at the airport today. He could have gone fishing.