Editorials

It’s not that Lucy Baxley isn’t qualified. Her résumé is filled with success. She gave up a lucrative career in business to heed the call to public service. She has been elected three times to statewide office.

Yet, so far in her 2006 bid for governor, we keep looking for some there there. The public deserves a detailed account of what would make a Baxley administration compelling: a set of policies, a plan to accomplish via leadership the fundamental changes the state needs — something.

Her promise not to make too many campaign promises isn’t going to take anyone to the mountaintop. The least she could do is tell us what she wants to do. The reasonable person will spot a politician an A for effort even if the whole thing crashes and burns once elected.

This endorsement of Baxley is thus a call for action. Her challenge, should she win in the June 6 primary, is to inject some energy into her campaign. Lay out a vision. Throw out the cautious strategy, and fire any consultant who claims it’s the way to electoral glory. Give the voters inspiration.

Politics is how a democratic society makes fundamental decisions. Voters can have their say in the direction the state will take. They rightly want specifics. Lucy Baxley, if she wants to sit behind the governor’s desk, ought to start providing her roadmap for Alabama.

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Gov. Bob Riley is in many ways a better governor than Alabama deserves. After so many disappointments at the top of state government, it seemed like we’d never elect a good person capable of doing a good job as governor.

Riley, a former congressman who was generally an unknown quantity four years ago when he first ran for governor, is like an unexpected cool breeze on a summer day.

The Star endorses Riley in the Republican primary race for governor.

Riley gets it. As he often says, the state is at a “tipping point.” Yes, it’s political rhetoric, but it’s also true. While the governor can’t take credit for all the strides Alabama has made during his tenure, he can honestly report that he’s been a good steward of Alabama’s interests and budding successes.

He deserves credit for ushering in needed reforms in the state tax code and doing his part in developing Alabama’s economy.

In this season of a Republican schism, Riley is a bright-line choice. While a conservative and devout practitioner of his faith, Riley, unlike his Republican foe, has proven that he will respect the rule of law, even when it is in opposition to his personal preferences.

In this campaign season, that alone is reason enough to favor Riley in the GOP primary.