Plenty of blame to be shared

There's more than enough blame to go around for the failure of the Indiana General Assembly to approve a budget for state government.

That failure, which forces the expense of a special session of the legislature, has many fathers.

In fact, it may be easier to cite a few folks who rose to the occasion rather than those who fell short.

The few who distinguished themselves - for their leadership, their ingenuity, and their persistence - include Senate Republicans David Long and Luke Kenley.

Sometimes it seemed as if the only movement coming out of the statehouse was coming from those two individuals.

On the House side, the trench warfare has gone on so long that it's no longer about the issues or ideas at hand. It's about the politics and the personalities.

House Majority Leader Pat Bauer and Minority Leader Brian Bosma have gone at it for so many years that it's more like watching a caged match than a lawmaking process.

And then there is the governor. In many ways, he's been the biggest disappointment of all.

Extremely popular with the electorate and with plenty of political capital to put to work, Gov. Mitch Daniels limited his role to broad brush strokes of what he wanted and foot-stamping about what he didn't want.

When his leadership was needed, he didn't lead.

When persuasiveness was needed, he offered "my way or the highway."

There was no shortage of smarts, but there was a dearth of wisdom. - J.R.

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