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FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

 

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The Blog for Monday, November 29, 2004

Graham

    Although he served the past 18 years in the U.S. Senate, Floridians might remember his eight years as governor better.

    Among his accomplishments as governor were improving Florida's public schools and universities, protecting the state's coasts and rivers and moving to restore the Everglades.

    Subsequent state officials have all espoused those goals, but their methods have differed from Graham's, and he is disturbed by the course that the state has taken since he left office.

    "I'm particularly sad because I feel that (education) is so central to almost everything that Florida wants to achieve," he said.

    His goal of seeing Florida ranked among the top quarter of the states has been replaced under Gov. Jeb Bush with statewide tests that rate each student and school.

    "I think we have gotten away from that (upper quartile goal), so people can talk about progress that's been made, but in a way where it's almost impossible to validate that you've achieved that objective. I'm disappointed that, in many areas, that approach to accountability has either evaporated or substantially diminished."

    Graham also has been unhappy with Gov. Bush's approach to higher education. Graham spearheaded the successful constitutional amendment in 2002 to create a central board of governors for the state's university system, over Bush's objections. But Graham has expressed concerns that the board has relinquished too much control to the trustees of each university.

    Graham blames Florida's approach to education for what he sees as economic clouds.

    "I've been very disappointed that two of the prime indicators of progress have been going in the wrong direction," he said, referring to a loss of manufacturing jobs in Florida and a dip in the state's per capita income in relationship to other states.

    Graham also has been troubled by changes Bush and the legislature made that extended by a decade the deadline for cleaning water that flows into Everglades National Park. He doesn't question state leaders' commitment to Everglades restoration, but he said he is concerned that their actions may give the impression to members of Congress that Florida is not fully committed.     "Graham laments undoing of legacy as he leaves arena".

6:46 AM

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