2006.12.17: December 17, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Tanzania: Politics: State Government: Columbus Dispatch: History may recall Taft more fondly than polls
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2006.12.17: December 17, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Tanzania: Politics: State Government: Columbus Dispatch: History may recall Taft more fondly than polls
History may recall Taft more fondly than polls
He left an enduring mark on Ohio by funding the largest school construction program in history, establishing the Third Frontier job-creation program and overhauling the state’s antiquated tax code. "Fifteen, 20 years from now, I think Taft will go down as one of the smartest and most accomplished governors we’ve had," Ohio Republican Chairman Robert T. Bennett said Friday. Taft’s legal troubles resulted from his failure to report on his annual financial-disclosure forms 52 golf outings, meals, hockey tickets and other gifts worth almost $6,000 since 1998. By law, all gifts of $75 or more must be disclosed to the public. "Obviously, I made a mistake. ... I’m the governor. I’m the one that’s responsible for making sure it’s accurate, and it wasn’t. That’s why I took responsibility. It was the right thing to do." Ohio Governor Robert Taft served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania in the 1960's.
History may recall Taft more fondly than polls
History may recall Taft more fondly than polls
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Alan Johnson and Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
As he leaves public office, Gov. Bob Taft is happy to discuss education, tax reform and the Third Frontier.
But Ohio’s 67 th governor flat out won’t speak about his darkest hour.
More precisely, it was 12 minutes in a Franklin County courtroom last year where Taft was found guilty of four misdemeanor ethics violations and fined $4,000, plus costs.
"There’s nothing more to say about that," Taft said, folding his arms across his chest. "I just don’t want to talk about it."
Taft sat down Friday with The Dispatch to reflect on his per- sonal highs and lows in eight years as governor before he leaves office Jan. 7, his 65 th birthday.
The highs are easy for Taft and his supporters to tick off, and although those 12 minutes in court mark his two terms in office, fairly or unfairly, history may treat him more kindly.
"Fifteen, 20 years from now, I think Taft will go down as one of the smartest and most accomplished governors we’ve had," Ohio Republican Chairman Robert T. Bennett said Friday.
The road traveled was often rocky for the great-grandson of a president, the grandson of "Mr. Republican" featured in John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, and the son of a U.S. senator.
He enjoyed a largely successful first term, helped by a strong economy and accomplishing most of his campaign promises during his initial year in office. As the economy soured and scandals surfaced, Taft’s popularity sank.
Even with the problems, Taft said he remained focused on his agenda.
"I think we have accomplished important things that are going to make a difference for Ohioans going forward," he said. "That’s what I look to for my satisfaction."
And although Taft leaves with public-opinion polls showing him the most unpopular governor in the country, he says public opinion never dictated how he did his job.
"You can’t try to govern by polls," he said. "I’ve tried to do what’s right, and I’ve set out an agenda that I believe prepares Ohio for the 21 st century.
"I’m really going to miss the job. … I have enjoyed being the person making the decisions."
Even so, he said he won’t miss campaigns like the last one in which he was frequently a political punching bag for Republican and Democratic candidates alike.
"I don’t watch TV very much, but obviously that was not a very pleasant period of time for me. I wish I could have been more helpful to our Republican candidates, but that wasn’t the situation."
Still, he wasn’t surprised in light of daily headlines generated by the investigation of Thomas W. Noe, a Maumee coin dealer and prominent GOP fundraiser who was convicted last month of stealing nearly $14 million from the $50 million rare-coin investment he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
"Once Noe happened, and I knew Noe, I just expected it was going to happen whether it was fair or not," Taft said of his political battering. "I was disappointed in some of our Republican friends who were taking that kind of tack in their own races even though they were people that I had I supported and worked with over the years."
He left an enduring mark on Ohio by funding the largest school construction program in history, establishing the Third Frontier job-creation program and overhauling the state’s antiquated tax code.
However, he was frequently bullied by fellow Republicans in the General Assembly and last week became the first governor in 20 years to have a veto overridden.
While Taft badly wanted to sell his ideas to Ohioans, he is such an intensely private person that even those close to him rarely got a glimpse of the real man inside.
Mary Ann Sharkey, who was Taft’s communication director during his first term, said he is "a gentleman who followed the rules of prep school, his family, society and culture. What he didn’t realize is that other people didn’t play by those rules.
"I don’t think there’s any doubt that history’s going to treat him a lot kinder," she said. "In retrospect, people will look at not reporting the golf games and gifts and put it in a larger context."
William C. Binning, chairman of the political science department at Youngstown State University and a former county Republican Party chairman, says Taft came to symbolize for many Ohioans everything that was wrong with the GOP and the state.
"It’s not just about him," Binning said. "I think he’s become a metaphor for the last Republican reign in Columbus."
Taft said he isn’t dwelling on how history will view his eight years in office.
"That’s for the historians. That’s for you pundits and for someone else to say. I did the right thing.
"I hope this time will be looked back upon as a period when Ohio really embarked on a steady course of school improvement and addressed a lot of education issues from school buildings to high academic standards to teacher training."
Taft’s legal troubles resulted from his failure to report on his annual financial-disclosure forms 52 golf outings, meals, hockey tickets and other gifts worth almost $6,000 since 1998. By law, all gifts of $75 or more must be disclosed to the public.
"Obviously, I made a mistake. ... I’m the governor. I’m the one that’s responsible for making sure it’s accurate, and it wasn’t. That’s why I took responsibility. It was the right thing to do."
He refused to blame his staff, even praising his chief of staff, Brian K. Hicks, who also was convicted of an ethics violation because he never revealed he had accepted a discounted stay at Noe’s Florida home.
"Brian did a great job. … He was very good public servant, and I certainly regret that he had to get raked through the coals for one pretty minor error."
There were good times, too, Taft said, recalling how Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had to don an Ohio State University football jersey after losing a bet on the 2002 OSU-Miami championship game. He has fond memories of governors dinners at the White House, visiting schools statewide, foreign-trade missions and promoting Ohio travel and tourism.
His future plans are likely to focus on education and teaching at the college level.
But he definitely wants time away from the public limelight after having his agenda driven by 30 years in office.
Taft will go full circle in January when he returns to the roots of his public service some 40 years ago.
He said one of the first things he and his wife, Hope, plan to do is to visit Tanzania, the African country where Taft served as an idealistic Peace Corps volunteer teacher in the 1960s.
A black-and-white picture of a younger, thinner Taft digging a ditch in Africa was used in Taft campaign ads and is prominently featured near the front of The Taft Years, a 128-page state-published book detailing his tenure as governor.
"We’re going to … just have fun for a while," Taft said.
ajohnson@dispatch.com
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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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By ohio (cpe-24-210-46-145.columbus.res.rr.com - 24.210.46.145) on Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 7:06 am: Edit Post |
Getting Ohio Republican Chairman Robert T. Bennett's stamp of approval as a smart guy is actually quite an indictment.
Three other Ohio GOP insiders beloved by Bennett, along with their current whereabouts:
* former Congressman Bob Ney: jail
* Toledo businessman and coin scandal figure Tom Noe: jail
* Mean Jean Schmidt, reelected despite calling Congressman John Murtha a coward on the floor of the house
Taft may not be the theocratic wacko type Republican -- though he he IS in league with election stealer / election loser Ken Blackwell, who IS one -- but, contrary to this article, Taft has been a disaster for this state. Noe and Hicks are not getting raked over coals for a minor error: this Republican machine has conspired in a variety of ways to personally profit while wrecking the economy and the social safety net.
Goodbye, Mr. Taft. You and our state will be a lot better off when you're finally out of office and in the classroom.
By ohio (cpe-24-210-46-145.columbus.res.rr.com - 24.210.46.145) on Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 7:05 am: Edit Post |
Getting Ohio Republican Chairman Robert T. Bennett's stamp of approval as a smart guy is actually quite an indictment.
Three other Ohio GOP insiders beloved by Bennett, along with their current whereabouts:
* former Congressman Bob Ney: jail
* Toledo businessman and coin scandal figure Tom Noe: jail
* Mean Jean Schmidt, reelected despite calling Congressman John Murtha a coward on the floor of the house
Taft may not be the theocratic wacko type Republican -- though he he IS in league with election stealer / election loser Ken Blackwell, who IS one -- but, contrary to this article, Taft has been a disaster for this state. Noe and Hicks are not getting raked over coals for a minor error: this Republican machine has conspired in a variety of ways to personally profit while wrecking the economy and the social safety net.
Goodbye, Mr. Taft. You and our state will be a lot better off when you're finally out of office and in the classroom.