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·                                 Sunday, March 12, 2006

Michigan should be asking: What would John do?

Nolan Finley

J ohn Engler's legacy is taking a licking from those determined to absolve Gov. Jennifer Granholm of any responsibility for Michigan's nearly four-year slide.

"Engler left her a mess," goes the mantra from the governor's apologists. And incredibly, enough Michigan residents have bought the excuse to keep Granholm's job approval ratings above 50 percent, even while a majority thinks the state is heading in the wrong direction under her leadership.

A gullible public is the best friend of a weak politician. Those who believe Granholm is struggling under the weight of Engler's incompetence are ignoring the historical facts.

Engler left solid house

When Engler left office after 12 years in 2002, Michigan enjoyed an as-good-as-it-gets AAA bond rating. Unemployment was below the national average, something that hadn't happened before he took office and hasn't happened since.

Granholm walked in the door to find a balanced budget, thanks to executive order cuts Engler made in the last three months of his term in response to a deteriorating economy.

She also was handed a state that was far healthier than Engler found when he arrived and immediately had to cover a $330 million budget shortfall.

Under Engler's leadership, Michigan cut taxes for both businesses and individuals, and slashed the state payroll as well.

Unlike the current governor, who promised to make education a priority, Engler never cut university appropriations. And he trimmed K-12 spending only in the last months of his term, and then only after a 10-year run in which funding for public schools increased at three times the rate of inflation.

Michigan's slide continues

There's no denying that Granholm walked straight into the collapse of the American auto industry, which continues to have an enormous negative impact on Michigan's economy.

But that can't by any stretch be blamed on John Engler.

Still, if you believe Engler left her a state in shambles, the next question has to be, "What's Granholm done to clean it up?"

What one problem has she solved? Can she point to anything as significant as the Proposal A property tax reform, which Engler pushed through a Democratic-controlled House?

Engler wasn't perfect. He could have done more structural cost-cutting. But reform is tougher in good times. The impetus for change is greatest when times are bad.

They can't get much worse than they are now. The desperation in the state should be an opportunity for Granholm to make the difficult political decisions necessary to reverse Michigan's course. That's what she promised to do when she sought the office.

Obviously, voters who chose Granholm over Engler's lieutenant governor were looking for a different direction.

But it's a safe bet they didn't expect that direction to be backwards.

Those who remember the strong, decisive leadership of the Engler years must be asking the question now, "What would John do?"

Nolan Finley is The News' editorial page editor. Contact him at nfinley@detnews.com or (313) 222-2064.