2006.12.12: December 12, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Tanzania: Politics: State Government: Dayton Daily News: Dayton Daily News says: Bob Taft deserves more respect
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2006.12.12: December 12, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Tanzania: Politics: State Government: Dayton Daily News: Dayton Daily News says: Bob Taft deserves more respect
Dayton Daily News says: Bob Taft deserves more respect
Nobody thinks Bob Taft is corrupt. The violation was the result of sloppiness. A lot of Republicans did think the governor was too weak to be worth defending from his own mistakes. He was also hurt politically by the fact that, on his watch, the performance of the Ohio economy generally ran behind that of the nation. But the truth is that governors don't have much control over that sort of thing. The real case against Bob Taft is that he never emerged as a forceful leader on a wide range of subjects. There was little in the way of a Taft legislative program that was strikingly bold. He seldom used the governor's pulpit to get something important done -- or stopped. And yet, with nearly all said and done, there is a clear legacy. His baby -- the Third Frontier, his effort to use state money to seed high-tech research in a formerly blue-collar, low-tech state -- is in place. The task of getting it there did not go smoothly, and the size still isn't what he had hoped for. But it's there, with a high profile, and it could grow. Ohio Governor Robert Taft served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania in the 1960's.
Dayton Daily News says: Bob Taft deserves more respect
Bob Taft deserves more respect
Dec 12, 2006
Dayton Daily News
To judge by his poll ratings, you might think Bob Taft has been the worst governor ever. It's not true. If a politician's own party isn't standing up for him, then poll ratings plummet. And Republicans -- always a bit skeptical that Gov. Taft's instincts were truly conservative -- turned away from him after he pleaded to a misdemeanor ethics violation. The party was already fighting a reputation for growing corruption. The political winds were blowing in a certain direction.
It is a shame, because nobody thinks Bob Taft is corrupt. The violation was the result of sloppiness. A lot of Republicans did think the governor was too weak to be worth defending from his own mistakes.
He was also hurt politically by the fact that, on his watch, the performance of the Ohio economy generally ran behind that of the nation. But the truth is that governors don't have much control over that sort of thing.
Through it all, Ohio Republicans knew that Gov. Taft and they were being lambasted in national conservative circles, because state spending kept going up substantially on their watch, prompting a sales tax increase. Even that, however, had little to do with the governor. There was no great rash of new or bigger spending programs on his watch.
The state Supreme Court had demanded a change in the way Ohio funds schools; the response -- including a massive building program - - was expensive.
And Medicaid -- a federal/ state program providing medical care for the poor -- was mushrooming in cost, especially as the state economy limped along. That created havoc on the budget. Blame the state government for not getting the program under control sooner, but the problem was not that Ohio's Medicaid program was being excessively generous to the poor.
The real case against Bob Taft is that he never emerged as a forceful leader on a wide range of subjects. There was little in the way of a Taft legislative program that was strikingly bold. He seldom used the governor's pulpit to get something important done -- or stopped.
And yet, with nearly all said and done, there is a clear legacy. His baby -- the Third Frontier, his effort to use state money to seed high-tech research in a formerly blue-collar, low-tech state -- is in place. The task of getting it there did not go smoothly, and the size still isn't what he had hoped for. But it's there, with a high profile, and it could grow.
And he is the governor who finally reformed Ohio's business taxes, eliminating old practices that were widely seen as hindrances to development, without really cutting the state's income. With the help of cooperative legislative leaders in the second half of his second term, he successfully promoted a switch to a low business tax that would apply almost universally, as opposed to higher taxes that were widely dodged. That is a good direction for governments, though the new plan is still too new to be judged a success.
And his support for the sales tax increase did help to keep basic services in place at a time when many in his party were eager to be seen as tax-cutters.
Bob Taft, former Peace Corps volunteer, is a man with a social conscience. He and his wife Hope have both worked to combat social ills and promote good schools in troubled areas.
Now he says they might settle in the Dayton area. They'd be welcome additions. And maybe with outgoing U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine saying he's coming home, too, this is the start of a new growth sector for the local economy.
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Headlines: December, 2006; RPCV Bob Taft (Tanzania); Figures; Peace Corps Tanzania; Directory of Tanzania RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Tanzania RPCVs; Politics; State Government; Ohio
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Story Source: Dayton Daily News
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