State of the State

I was surprised and heartened by the number of reporters on hand to cover Wednesday's State of the State address by Gov. Joe Manchin, the third of his term.

The Associated Press wrote about the proposed budget as well as the speech itself. AP coverage can also be found here, here and here.

The Charleston Gazette offered a main story on the speech, with additional coverage of Manchin's mine safety and economic development proposals. The Charleston Daily Mail will likely post a number of articles later this morning.

The Huntington Herald-Dispatch covered the speech and also focused on higher education in the governor's proposed budget.

The Register-Herald of Beckley similarly provided separate focus on the agenda outlined in the speech and the budget bill.

MetroNews offers at least five items from the State of the State, as well as commentary by Hoppy Kercheval. Public Broadcasting televised the speech, while various TV and radio stations provided coverage as well.

There is more out there, to be sure. At least one blogger also attended the legislative session's opening day, but I don't yet see a post.

You can always eliminate the middle-man and read the speech or watch it here on the governor's web site.

I counted only two standing ovations, and neither was for a Manchin legislative proposal. The crowd instead stood to cheer for the state's veterans and for Charleston firefighter/world's strongest man Phil Pfister.

The coverage above and elsewhere also reflects tepid praise and outright criticism from both lawmakers and lobbyists. Such initial reactions must be weighed, however, against Manchin's formidable record in getting his legislative agendas passed intact.