Matt Towery comments on Georgia's next governor: "I’d hate to be a Republican & have to run against that guy."

Dick Pettys announced his retirement a General Assembly session or so ago, but loves and just can't quit writing about Georgia politics, something he is very skilled at doing. He is one of the best of the best, and someone I have often described on this blog as being one knowledgeable guy on Georgia history and politics.

But even if he had retired, today was one of those days where someone in Dick Pettys's league - let's say I am thinking of Georgia's Dean of Journalism and Politics - must have found it mighty tempting to hit the keyboard and send something somewhere for publication or circulation, even if such destination was, God forbid, the ajc, Bill Shipp's former employer where he wasn't made editor of the Atlanta Constitution after several years during which his column was the main editorial page attraction (Mr. Pettys was with the Associated Press for years before Matt Towery wisely persuaded him to join the staff at InsiderAdvantage Georgia and later tapped him as editor).

Note in Mr. Pettys's artice how one sentence says volumes in his reporting of some very exciting news today involving Georgia's next governor.

From InsideAdvantage Georgia:

The Roy Barnes model of 2010 is a little different from the Model of 2002, the one that lost a re-election bid and gave Republicans their first governor since Reconstruction.

[T]he Barnes model of 2010 - for now at least - has a little less chrome, attempting to project a somewhat humbler image, designed to blunt the lingering memories of those who criticized what they called his strongarm tactics while in office.

“I’ve listened and I realized that when I was governor before I didn’t do enough listening. I realize that I was impatient and that I had an aggressive agenda. I didn’t take time to explain why I thought certain issues were important or so time-sensitive and critical ... Now let me tell you, my mama said I was the hard-headedest kid that God ever put on the face of the earth. And my mama was always right. But I did learn from those experiences and I learned from my mistakes ...”

While ripping the Republicans for the direction state government has taken since he left office, Barnes didn’t let the rhetoric rise to extraordinary levels. “We can do better,” he declared, saying the people of Georgia he’s talked to over the last 60 days seem to be in a funk about their future and are turned off by those running state government.

“People are tired of the special interests running the state Capitol. They have come to believe - and I agree with them - if you can hire a lobbyist with tassled loafers and eel skin briefcases you can get anything done, but if you can’t hire a lobbyist your concern is never even considered... The people of Georgia that I have heard say that they are outraged that the public interest is being subverted ...”

“I’d hate to be a Republican and have to run against that guy,” said political analyst Matt Towery, who is chairman and CEO of InsiderAdvantage. “By that, I’m not implying that he’s a shoo-in to win. It’s just that he possesses virtually every skill that you need to be a very formidable candidate.”

Not surprisingly, Barnes cited the Republicans' austerity cuts to education and inability to solve transportation problems as key items he hopes to address. Transportation and education had been two of his principle issues while he was in office.

He also said he thinks he's patched things up with many teachers, who saw in his aggressive education reforms an effort to scapegoat them. In recent private meetings, he said, many have told him they remember having been mad at him but now can't remember why. His reforms pre-dated the No Child Left Behind requirements many now are having to meet, he said.

All in all, it was a middle-of-the-road speech that wasn't overly heavy on partisan politics and sought to reach out to suburban Republican commuters who are stuck in traffic jams every day.

The announcement ends months of speculation, and turns the Democratic battle on its head.

It also impacts the Republican calculus, putting a name with star power into the mix in what some had rated as a pushover field for whoever captured the Republican nomination. Barnes knows the state and in the past showed himself to be a prolific fundraiser . . . .

Barnes’ loss has been blamed variously on his alienation of teachers with a far-reaching school reform plan, anxiety among suburban voters over the proposed Northern Arc and his swift and successful push to remove the Confederate battle emblem from Georgia’s flag. Too, Perdue successfully exploited the Democrat’s 2001 effort to use redistricting to retard Republican gains.