Brian Greenspun tells Gibbons supporters (you know who you were) to step up, back him up

Sunday, April 15, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Was it an immaculate election?

I read the newspapers - local and national. I watch television - network and cable. I enter cyberspace - I think. And I talk to a lot of people, both in Nevada and from across the country. And everywhere I go, everyone I talk to and everything I watch and hear is all about the governor of Nevada. And it ain't pretty, if you know what I mean.

For the record, and I hardly ever discuss how I vote, I didn't vote for Gov. Jim Gibbons. I didn't vote for him when he ran for Congress - I have not lived in his district as best I can remember - but our newspaper did endorse him in the past. We supported the voters' choice of him as a congressman, and I have tried very hard to support their choice in 2006. After all, he almost got a majority of Nevada's votes for governor and it is my responsibility - as it is every Nevadan's - to root for his success. He is Nevada's governor.

That's a pretty simple notion, by the way, because if our governor is a successful leader that almost always translates into our state being led well. If he is a failure, we will all fail. So, once the political wrangling is over, we all have to pull in the same general direction and that is toward a better state, with a higher quality of life provided for in the most efficient way possible.

Well, to use the vernacular, that ain't the way this ship of state is heading. From the first few seconds of Gov. Gibbons' administration - and some would say from a few weeks prior to that - he has been muddling his way into and through one pitfall after another, barely surviving one ridiculous statement or action only to find himself hip deep in the muck of another senseless and stupid action. And each time he finds himself flat on his face - thanks, Mr. Sinatra - he picks himself up and ... doesn't even come close to getting back in the race.

Nevada doesn't need a recall election. We don't need the Democrats smelling blood and piling on to the point where nothing good happens, especially while the Legislature is in session and has only a few more weeks to get the vital work done. And, most importantly, we don't need any more conspiracy theories, FBI investigations, loony ideas about how to pay for vital services with make - believe tax monies because of some stupid pledge Gov. Gibbons made to get elected. We all know the voters are aware that the politicians lie about such things and we all know that the voters expect services, so deep down they know they will have to pay for them.

What we do need is a governor who is engaged on the issues, who is willing to lead during the legislative session, who isn't afraid of making a legitimate mistake and who knows the importance of giving the people of this state the kind of leadership they thought they were getting.

What we also need is for the people who elected him, the people who vouched for Congressman Jim Gibbons as the next Nevada governor, the people who put their credibility and their resources on the line to convince others that Gibbons was what Nevada needed - we need them to step forward and take ownership in that which they have wrought.

There are chairmen and presidents of major gaming companies. There are large- and small-business owners, ranchers, developers and kingmakers, large and small, who were present and accounted for before the election. Today, it is hard to find anyone in this state who voted for Jim Gibbons, much less who will put him or herself out in front of the line of people who are claiming ownership of this mess.

Politics is a strange business. When you are on top it is amazing how many friends, supporters and kingmakers there are to take credit for the good work you do and the successes you achieve. When things aren't going so well, well, it can get lonely at the top.

I suspect it is very lonely at the top of Nevada government for our governor right now. If I can't find anyone who supported and voted for him, imagine the difficulty he is having. And it only gets more difficult with every new conspiracy theory and the advancing foot - in - mouth disease by which he is obviously afflicted.

So, where are the handlers? Where are the chairmen? Where are the lobbyists who stand to make so much money because their side has won the political battle? Where are the people who risked their credibility and resources to get this man elected? Why aren't they at the Governor's Mansion right now sharing their wisdom, their ideas and their efforts in an attempt to right this ship of state?

We did not have an immaculate election. Real people were involved. And, so far, those same real people are nowhere to be found. When Colin Powell told the president of the United States - frankly, he told all of us - that if we broke Iraq we would own it, he was right. And if we didn't believe him then we certainly understand the warning today. The same holds true for Nevada. We didn't break Nevada when we elected Jim Gibbons governor , but it appears that we have started a series of events that could have it come crashing to the floor in either a legal, fiscal, transportation or educational crisis if we are not careful.

And, so far, we have not been careful enough to make sure our governor has the kind and quality of advice that will get him past his inability to get out of his own way. The people of the United States have learned over the past six years the folly of electing a person who has not the intellectual capacity or curiosity to make the kind of decisions that are required in today's most complex world. I don't think anyone in this state wants to believe we did the same thing again.

Gov. Gibbons has made it clear, like the fellow in the White House , that it is his intention to ignore the media and all those who are critical of his actions and decisions. Fine. So although that doesn't leave very many others from whom he can seek advice, there are still those in Nevada who should make themselves available.

Come on you captains of our gaming industry and you generals of our political machinery. Come out from wherever you are hiding and accept the responsibility for having elected Jim Gibbons governor. His administration can still be salvaged and with it the immediate future and good name of this great state. This was nothing immaculate about this election. There were real people who supported Jim Gibbons and there were tens of thousands of others who believed in him.

For their sake, for our sake, grab Jim's ear and bend it until he listens. And if your friends won't do that for you, Governor, grab them yourself and help them make you listen. You are Nevada's governor and Nevada needs you to act like one.

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