We've had candidates before who promised to work "for a Better Indiana," and there have even been organizations such as Taxpayers for a Better Indiana and the Association to Build a Better Indiana. But now, merely "better" apparently isn't good enough:
When Democrat John Gregg announced last week that he was through exploring a run for governor and now would actually run, he promised he was "committed to building an even better Indiana."
An even better Indiana?
Now where have we heard that before?
Oh, that's right. From the leading Republican candidate for governor, U.S. Rep. Mike Pence.
Pence, in announcing his candidacy, told reporters he plans to talk a lot about building "an even better Indiana."
Not just Better, you see, but Even Better. To be fair to both of them, there aren't too many pithy ways to say, "I don't want to make you mad or get you depressed by saying things are awful here, but I do have to convey the idea that I think things will improve under me." Somebody at the presidential-campaign level should come out with something like, "We need to start getting worse slower than we have been."
I will be most interested to see if Pence and Gregg both make other vital promises Hoosiers need to hear about Working Families and Bridges to the Future and Growing the Economy and, especially, our Children's Hopes and Dreams. I certainly hope they will Fight Against All Odds, even Work Across Party Lines, for these things so that Hoosiers will be Empowered. Heck, if they do that, we won't have to settle for a Better Indiana; we can have a Hoosier state that is the Best That It Can Be.
