Alabama's state

In his State of the State address last night, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was talking about how to spend a projected surplus. Here is a sampling of comment from Alabama newspapers.

The Huntsville Times writes:

In Alabama's state government, any riches are an embarrassment of riches. This budget year, and maybe next, the two state government budgets will finish in the black, something almost unprecedented in Alabama.

The Birmingham News writes:

Forgive Gov. Bob Riley if his State of the State address Tuesday evening sounded an awful lot like the State of the Re-elect Riley Campaign. In his first three years as governor, the Ashland Republican has a lot to crow about - which he did, for about the first third of his speech.

The Anniston Star writes:

[I]t was a speech with something for everyone, just the sort of reasoned, incremental approach to Alabama’s needs one would expect from Bob Riley. It was also campaign speech, for he clearly wanted voters to know that he was the one who could bring these things about.

The Mobile Register writes:

[L]et us note that the governor had every right to boast about remarkable accomplishments, and that he has thus earned the trust necessary to implement a series of reforms he outlined.