Christine Gregoire is in need of a makeover before delivering her inaugural address on Wednesday.
I’m not suggesting that the governor-elect get a radical new coif or solicit wardrobe advice from a few queer eyes.
I’m talking about adding a touch of warmth to her political persona.
Her trouble stems from her strength – a laser-beam focus and unyielding toughness. It’s visible in her determined stride and in her tone. On the campaign trail, she was a picture of frosty efficacy.
To her good fortune, 129 more voters preferred her to the gregarious Republican Dino Rossi. The job is hers, whether it lasts four months or four years.
But the attributes that served her well as attorney general are not quite enough now that she’s chief executive. She needs to accessorize, add a little color and soften the edges a bit.
Her debut is Wednesday, and the speech will be her first solo as governor. What she says is important, and how she says it is even more important in establishing credibility.
Many hands are crafting the verbiage, searching out the right words for these stormy times. Gregoire reportedly is editing it heavily.
Her speech will offer a blueprint for lawmakers and a map for residents of where she hopes to steer the state. Expect a remake of the campaign theme songs. “I am a lot about meat and potatoes,” she said Friday.
Her goal is to reintroduce herself. “I don’t think people came to know me,” she said. “They need to know that I am just like them.”
For that, expect a guided journey past the mileposts in her life – raised in Auburn by her mother, a short-order cook; marrying a Vietnam War veteran; raising two daughters; fighting breast cancer.
Because first impressions are lasting, Gregoire aims to strike the pose of a leader.
She views the inauguration as a starting point for healing the effects of the excruciating election. She herself has been in need of such healing. She has looked frustrated and sounded angry when talking about efforts to overturn her victory.
Yet, many in the state will never feel healed until they get another shot at choosing a governor. Voters covering more than half the territory of the state did not want a Gregoire-led government.
They wanted Rossi to deliver the inaugural. On Tuesday morning, hundreds of them, including busloads of Snohomish County residents, will protest her victory outside the Capitol.
Inside, Republican legislators will attempt to thwart Gregoire from picking up her certificate of election, insisting that we will never know who truly won on Nov. 2.
Those same GOP lawmakers will return Wednesday to listen to the new governor.
“That’s got to be a moment in time where that which has been very difficult, very emotional and very political is set aside and allows us to move forward,” she said.
“The moment I leave that podium, their work really begins. They need to know that I am willing to move forward and work with them.”
Reporter Jerry Cornfield’s column on politics runs every Sunday. He can be heard at 7 a.m. Monday on the Morning Show on KSER 90.7 FM. He can be reached at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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