Instead of being the mediator between the "tax and spend" and "budget cut" factions in the legislature, she refused to put the "budge" in "budget."  Over the next 9 months, her own party couldn't find enough votes to get the Granholm budget out of the House, where her party has the majority.  She then had the spherical testicular objects to blame the Legislature, specifically the Republicans, for the ensuing shutdown and current budget debacle.

This year, the Gov must face a State where no one admits voting for her in 2006.  The news is bad, and and she's looking for any good news to share with the citizens of Michigan.  She's already hard at work on her speech, and here are some drafts that were found on scraps of paper in her dumpster:

"In 2006, the U of M said that we'd lose 6,000 jobs this year, but we ended up losing 76,000.  This gross miscalculation by the U of M Econ Department, along with the Wolverine loss to Appalachian State, shows the horrible result of the Engler administration's policies towards higher education."

"The good news is that estimates only have us losing 51,000 jobs in 2008.  This means that, in the second year of our economic plan, we saw a 33% improvement over 2007, when we lost 76,000 jobs. In the fifth year, you're gonna be blown away!"

"Michigan leads the nation in the reduction of carbon emissions.  Michigan citizens are driving a lot less, cutting down on commutes to work as well as their planned vacations.  Industries have shut  down manufacturing plants that pollute the air and water.  The combination of cleaner air and water, and reduced use of the roads, has grass growing in the streets of many Michigan Cool Cities."

"The impact of the Michigan education system now echoes around the world, as our college graduates go to work for employers in every part of the USA.  Pfizer saw the value of their Michigan talent, relocating  many of its 2,400 highly-educated employees to its locations in other states.  Their high wages show that every Michigan citizen should get a 4-year degree to assure themselves that they will have a job - somewhere."

"There are many bright economic bright spots here in Michigan.  For instance, Blue Cross Blue Shield will show record revenue on the strength of its 1% fee increase... per month.  It is imperative that we do everything to protect the those unionized BCBS jobs by making sure that BCBS's biggest customers, MESSA and the UAW, continue to prove top-of-the-line coverage for its members at a price that insures that Blue Cross remains profitable."

"A little over a year ago, misguided voters passed the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.  I'm happy to say that in spite of this ignorant vote, Michigan continues to diversify its population, as large numbers of people come here to work in restaurants, hotels, and taking care of the lawn in the Governor's Mansion.  Accordingly, the fine people at Beaner's Coffee have changed their name as a show of sensitivity, and are now called 'Frijoles'"

Other scraps of paper, no doubt containing more ideas for the State of the State address, remain in the dumpster, but RightMichigan's dumpster staff - all college students - were called away by calls from their Wyoming headhunters.  

(note -- Before our Dem readers call for a Justice Dept investigation for dumpster diving, let me note that this piece is satire.  Honest.  We all know that the Dems lose such documents in the Rose Law Firm instead.)