Owens Still Riding High
Despite the state's budget issues, his separation, and the defeat of a water project referendum, Governor Bill Owens is still wildly popular among Coloradoans. Owens has handled the separation from his wife the right way, not trying to hide the fact, or pretend in a sham marriage (Mr. & Mrs. Clinton, take note), but not inviting the public in for close inspection of the details. The Governor's main weakness seems to be on the environment. As usual, the environmental movement brooks no dissent, in this case preferring gridlock to wider roads.
It's hard to square this with his lack of leadership on the budget issue, especially since he almost certainly owes a great deal of his popularity to TABOR. One hopes that he provides an energetic defense of that measure against Democratic attacks on it.
