This rumor has made the rounds ever since Granholm was re-elected in 2006. On the morning of the State of the State 2008, Dawson Bell revives it once again.
Fans of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's oratory should make a special point of tuning in tonight as she delivers her sixth State of the State address. It could be her last.
It could be mine too.
Speculation that Granholm might pull up stakes after 2008 and join a Hillary Clinton administration in Washington, D.C., has intensified in recent months as the presidential campaign season enters the late stages and Granholm nears the halfway point in her second and final term as governor.
The logic runs something like: For better or worse, the die is cast on Granholm's tenure; there's not much left for her to do. She remains a relatively young, charismatic asset to the Democratic Party who will have helped Clinton win a crucial state, and who needs and deserves a good job beyond the next two years.
Yeah. She does. And as someone who has lived and breathed and rode every emotional up and down following her these past two years, there is a huge part of me that hopes she does get offered something bigger, somthing better, something that gets her out of the bush leagues and away from the nasty, petty Republicans in this state, if only to go deal with the nasty, petty Republicans in Washington.
At least there she will have backup; from what I can tell when it comes to Michigan, she has been pretty much on her own. I've watched a crowd ride her coattails and then turn their backs as the cries of "lame duck" rang out about two seconds after the last vote was counted in 2006. I've watched a lot of things happen that have been a hell of a learning experience for me and make me think, "Gawd I miss the music business".
Maybe that's just the way it is. Politics is an ugly place filled with people who have to scramble to stay ahead, and they will do whatever it takes to position themselves for that. I wouldn't know; I'm not some expert, never had a desire to be part of the political scene, certainly never wanted a career in Lansing. I wish someone would have warned me.
But here I am. I don't like to run around bragging about this because 1)that just isn't me, and 2)it's not ABOUT me. I am but a messenger. She is the message.
And she's a damn good one. There is no other I would knock myself out for like this.
So, while I'm proud of the work I've done; not necessarily at the Governor's blog, but just everywhere in general these past few years, I don't like to focus on myself. It has been an amazing ride, one that I should write about someday when it's over. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one like me in the entire country, and I'm making small bits of history, whether anyone realizes it or not. That's pretty cool.
But lately, some things have happened that make me realize that I'm not going to stay in this after she goes. I might still blog on my own, pursue the photography for sure, but as far as the "community" aspect of it, well, it's just too draining. And me being pretty much a person who likes to be and create on my own- it just doesn't fit.
Quite frankly, I'm tired of doing great work and getting beat up for it. Some incredibly painful things have happened to me in this medium; I take the punches, I keep my mouth shut, I heal, they come back and punch me some more. Granted, that is probably the price you pay for being high profile and honest about who you are- but I've had enough of immature bullies. I'll tell the whole story someday, I promise. Am I too sensitive? Yes. Yes I am. I freely admit that. So what.
There is a sense of destiny that I have felt the past two years that I have never felt before. I can't describe it; I never really believed in a "destiny", per say. But things have happened that seemed to serve to show me that I had to be at this place; whether it is for the Governor, myself, the state, the blogosphere, all of the above, I don't know, but there was this underlying feeling that seemed to be controlling? directing? guiding? me.
Right now, that feeling is telling me this might be the last SotS that I experience in such a personal way. I could be wrong, I've been wrong about it before.
All I know is that this governor is magic, and I'm sure glad I could be along for the ride, however long that ride lasts. It has cost me dearly, but it has been well worth it.
Enjoy the SotS tonight. I know I will.