I was reminded of Gov. Rudy Perpich's old slogan yesterday when I walked by his portrait at the Capitol. Of course the jobs issue is back in the news because of the revenue forecast released this week. Just to review, the forecast said this:

... in the last two years, employment growth in Minnesota has fallen further behind the national averages. During the second half of 2005 Minnesota payroll employment grew at an annual rate of just 0.4 percent. U.S. payroll employment, even with the disruptions from the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, grew nearly twice as fast.

So how concerned is the current governor about this? Not very. I asked him about it on Midday yesterday and he said basically the job growth lag is not a big deal for a number of reasons. First, he said there's not enough data to indicate a trend. Secondly, he said, the defense industry is leading the national economy, and Minnesota doesn't have many defense companies. And he said the numbers are lower because he's cut government jobs, and because the state's population is aging and the numbers reflect people leaving the workforce.

What did the governor talke about? His agenda for the session, which includes ensuring that 70 percent of every education dollar be spent in the classroom, and cracking down on illegal immigration. He also talked about health care initiatives and tax reform.

The governor took it as a given that a bonding bill will pass, and he has been pushing the gay marriage ban.

Presumably he will have more to say in his state of the state speech and in his supplimental budget, but anyone looking for a bold program for the future of the state to kick off the session and the campaign season didn't hear it yesterday.

Maybe it's enough that the budget is balanced, but you have to wonder what else will excite voters this year.