OPINION Dr. Kitzhaber's Patented Vacuum Effect What explains the waning influence of a popular governor? Read the governor's State of the State speech. By our unofficial count, Gov. John Kitzhaber's State of the State address last Friday broke a new record. Never in recent memory has a speech of this sort been interrupted so few times by applause. Only four times during the course of Kitzhaber's prepared remarks did the audience put their hands together--and only once with any passion. There was even an awkward moment when the governor raised his voice, shook his fist and in rather dramatic fashion, demanded that the audience reclaim the Oregon vision. He then paused for what he clearly expected to be a rousing ovation. But there was nothing but the clinking of spoons against coffee cups. What's going on? Why the polite but cool reception to a governor who for six years has waged the good fight? After all, the governor could not have asked for a more seemingly supportive crowd than the SRO audience that greeted him at the Multnomah Athletic Club. The room was filled with allies. Congressman Blumenauer here, Mayor Katz there. Supreme Court Justice Ted Kulongoski. Lobbyists. Apparatchiks. Enviros. All members in good standing of the church of Government-Is-Still-The-Friend-Not-The-Enemy. In addition, Kitzhaber's speech had substance. He called for targeted investments in education and an ambitious plan to offer universal health coverage, and he reminded us of the need to preserve the heritage that this state sometime seems to be hanging on to by a piece of lichen. Yet it was impossible not to view this performance, and the reaction, as emblematic of the great puzzle of John Kitzhaber: He is a governor who is exceedingly popular yet largely ineffective at the job of moving this state forward. How come? Part of it may be the complacency that has infected this state like the winter flu. Kitzhaber himself spoke eloquently about this smugness, born of economic good fortune and our fading memory of the hard work it took to get here. But that doesn't explain it all. Good times may make it more difficult to rally the troops, but they certainly don't make it impossible. More likely, the answer can be found in Kitzhaber himself. A decent and honest man, the governor has nevertheless been unable, during his six years as governor, to accomplish much more than use up the ink in his veto pen. It may be personal aloofness, or the shortcomings of his staff, or his inability to appreciate the enormous difference between good policy and smart politics. The Kitzhaber vacuum works like supercharged oxygen for Bill Sizemore, an impish signature gatherer who knows nothing about policy but lots about politics and who is so buoyant over his success at kicking the barn down that he doesn't give a damn about putting it back together. It's revealing that the only moment our governor did get spirited applause was when he asked his fellow citizens to defeat Sizemore's initiative to remove the cap on the deductibility of federal income tax from state income taxes. This is emotionally rewarding but ultimately more of the same: engaging the state in vetoing rather than leading. John Kitzhaber either never learned or has long forgotten one of the elementary lessons in democratic politics: Winning isn't about overcoming your opponent's argument with facts--it's about establishing your agenda as the agenda. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published January 26, 2000