Bellevue, WA... Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. It is also a state of mind alive and well with Gov. Christine Gregoire.

As news broke this week of Washington's higher unemployment rate and we await the new numbers on the state's budget deficit - currently at $2.5 billion, one is left to wonder at the out-of-touch statements coming from Gov. Gregoire in recent months.

Deficit:  What, Me Worry?

On the deficit, she has flat-out refused to acknowledge reality. Earlier this year when the nonpartisan Senate Ways & Means Committee predicted that the budget deficit for the upcoming 2009-11 budget cycle looked to be around $2.3 or $2.4 billion, Gov. Gregoire asserted that "actually those numbers are inflated, it's something beneath $2 billion, and it's a guess" (Interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, 3/27/08). Her budget writer said "I'm not giving any credence to that number" (Seattle Times, 2/20/08).

Have we seen Gov. Gregoire produce a different forecast? No. Even though she is sure that the nonpartisan Senate Ways & Means Committee just has to be wrong...

Instead, Gov. Gregoire has put her considerable creative energies to work rationalizing all the bad news and attempting to deflect criticism away from her administration. Here's just a short of list of some of the spin strategies the governor has employed:

• Pollyanna-ism. "The Legislature is now leaving a substantial surplus in our state, in contrast to the 25 states currently facing deficits...We are the envy of many states." (The Columbian, 3/14/08). 

Translation: Ignore that deficit behind the curtain.

• Shifting the blame. "When I came to office, Washington was struggling with $2.2 billion shortfall." (State of the State Address, 1/15/08).

Translation: Ignore that record surplus that I blew through.

• Hide the numbers. "Gregoire's budget office...has stopped producing six-year budget outlooks" (Crosscut, 1/17/08).

Translation: See no deficit, hear no deficit, speak no deficit.

The Economy:  Pay no attention to the numbers!

With each piece of news indicating that Washington's economy is cooling - declining home sales, a big jump in joblessness - Gov. Gregoire likewise can't seem to bring herself to accept reality.

Gov. Gregoire seems to believe that a good dose of lecturing will change people's minds about the real state of the economy, no matter what the facts:

• "We must understand our economy is strong and growth is going to continue to be the future." (Seattle P-I, 2/8/08)

And when the incontrovertible truth is too much for even Gov. Gregoire to ignore, she shifts the blame:

• "A spokesman for Gov. Chris Gregoire reacted late Tuesday [to news of Washington's higher unemployment rate] by blaming ‘the failed policies of the Bush administration'" (Seattle P-I, 6/18/08).

Ah, yes - that's the Christine Gregoire we know so well: Take all the credit when things are going well, and look for someone else to be the scapegoat when things head south.

Tomorrow should prove to be another ride down the Spin Highway when Gov. Gregoire responds to the release of the new budget deficit estimate. Stay tuned...

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