Branstad the Fifth Coronated

I just watched Gov. Terry Branstad take his oath and give his inaugural address, through the miracle of the modern interwebs. I know most folks find this political stuff boring, but I still enjoy and find come measure of comfort in the formalities of these public rituals.

And I think Branstad rose to the occasion and delivered a fine speech.

It had all the necessary ingredients. It had home state love, "Iowa is an exceptional place." It had hopeful, forward-looking lines "Iowa is standing at the precipice of opportunity greater than at any time since our ancestors crossed the Mississippi to view an expanse of prairie as far as the eye could see."

It had a soft jab at naysayers, "You ain't seen nothin' yet," the new/retro governor said to those who doubt he can create all the jobs and fatten all the paychecks as he promised often on the campaign trail.

I particularly enjoyed his old timey reference to Iowa "sitting in the catbird seat of history." You just don't hear "catbird seat" much anymore.

According to the internets, the phrase took off in the American lexicon thanks to the legendary baseball announcer and phrase-turner Red Barber and Jame's Thurber's short story "The Catbird Seat" in 1942:

In the halls, in the elevator, even in his own office, into which she romped now and then like a circus horse, she was constantly shouting these silly questions at him. "Are you lifting the oxcart out of the ditch? Are you tearing up the pea patch? Are you hollering down the rain barrel? Are you scraping around the bottom of the pickle barrel? Are you sitting in the catbird seat?"It was Joey Hart, one of Mr. Martin's two assistants, who had explained what the gibberish meant. "She must be a Dodger fan," he had said. "Red Barber announces the Dodger games over the radio and he uses those expressions - picked 'em up down South." Joey had gone on to explain one or two. "Tearing up the pea patch" meant going on a rampage; "sitting in the catbird seat" means sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him.

It was Joey Hart, one of Mr. Martin's two assistants, who had explained what the gibberish meant. "She must be a Dodger fan," he had said. "Red Barber announces the Dodger games over the radio and he uses those expressions - picked 'em up down South." Joey had gone on to explain one or two. "Tearing up the pea patch" meant going on a rampage; "sitting in the catbird seat" means sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him.

Sorry, got a bit diverted.

Branstad promised Iowans a "new covenant" between them and their government. That covenant, the governor said, would be based on the principles of limited government, service to the people, a world-class education system and encouraging Iowans to celebrate success.

He promised spending cuts, regulatory changes and tax relief/reforms that would allow Iowa to shed the "lead boots" of government and "run like the wind in the race for prosperity." Yeah, and you'll also want to cut back on the tenderloins.

He mentioned Tocqueville, and that's Alexis de, not some town in northeast Iowa where he once cut a ribbon for a new gazebo during the 80s.

He also quoted Lincoln, good call,  saying that government should do only for the people what they cannot do for themselves. Fine quote, but not exactly a perfect formula for limited government.

I think probably the least exciting moment for me was when he announced that he would convene a "summit" of national and state education leaders to chart a path to school reforms in Iowa. I'm sure Branstad believes this will bear fruit, and I'm hopeful that it will. It's just that we've been down this blue ribbon, special task force of a road before, many, many, many times.

And I wondered how his party's drive to gut the state's popular preschool program squares with his desire for globally competitive schools. But we can argue about that later.

But Branstad ended in Reagan-esque fashion, with the story of an old farmer he met at a coffee shop during the campaign. The farmer asked him why he wanted to be governor again. After answering, Branstad asked the farmer what he accomplished in his life.

With a "twinkle in his eye," and after a "long sip of coffee," Branstad said the farmer answered, "I left my farm better than I found it." Branstad then said he hopes to make Iowa better than he found it. Nice ending.

So what's next? Oh yeah, he's got to deliver the goods with a divided legisalture in a political climate where voters give you exactly 34 seconds to show results.

But for today, he's in the catbird seat.