Over the past several decades, I have had the pleasure (and occasional displeasure) of knowing many politicians.  Some were good, some were great, some were not so good, and some were outright bad; yet most of them reflected what their constituents wanted in their elected officials.

I suppose that’s why I find it so ironic to see Governor Phil Bredesen’s name associated with “politics as usual,” as it relates to the problems with the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s promotion practices, or the ethics questions raised in general and fueled by those charged in the Tennessee Waltz scandal.  The phrase “politics as usual” hardly applies to the realities of this most unusual “politician.”

“He’s unlike any politician I’ve ever known” is the description most often used to describe Phil Bredesen by most everyone I’ve heard talk about him..  Whether the statement was meant as either a grudging or admiring comment, it accurately reflects the sense of the man who came to the political forefront in Nashville less than 20 years ago.

I vividly recall his first edict as Nashville’s new mayor, when he established an ethics policy for his administration that was hound-dog-with-a-tick-tight.  Business was not going to be “as usual”, and he, through his policies, said: Do it the right way.  Further, he set out to professionalize  Metro’s departments.  Did he accomplish everything he wanted to?  Maybe not.  However, what he did do was to change the way business had always been done, which, in turn,   influenced the governmental culture of the way things are done in Metro today.

As a young turk in Governor Buford Ellington’s office many years ago, I remember well the shock waves that we sent throughout the state when we told our county campaign managers the following: “We prefer to hire our friends for state jobs, but they must be qualified.” This was a radical change from the politics as usual approach that ad been the previous standard in a patronage-heavy state, but, thank goodness, one that was reluctantly embraced by most of our folks.  We found, as many others have since, that changing the ungainly behemoth ways of any government is a slow, arduous and unforgiving task.

Yet, the way to affect change, is with a determined, but basic philosophy and management style that says: Do the right thing.  Is it ever going to be perfect?  No way.  Will mistakes be made in aiming for a certain ideal?  No doubt.

In Phil Bredesen, we have a man who rarely shies away from the tough issues, to wit, TennCare.  This well-intentioned, mammoth program was essentially bankrupting our state while eliminating any chance of progress in education and other important services.  At some point, someone had to tackle the beast.  Bredesen set about doing that.  It looks as though the corner has been turned, but not without political and human costs.  Knowing Phil Bredesen, the “different” politician, he probably cares little about the political costs, but I know he cares greatly about the human costs that invariably accompany the tough solutions.

Similarly, Bredesen took the lead in the ethics issues that have come close to putting a stranglehold on Tennessee’s General Assembly.  He did so, in my opinion, out of respect for the General Assembly and because, without some meaningful changes, few were going to believe it even when they were “doing it the right way.”

In the daily frantic efforts, skirmishes, consternations and, occasionally, celebrations that engulf a governor and his staff, it’s sometimes hard to keep stay grounded in the basics of doing it right.  Is the Bredesen administration perfect?  No way.  Have they made mistakes? Sure.  Will they make more?  Certainly.  But the continuum which truly comforts me is that we have in Phil Bredesen a very different politician who will make a difference, and will strive to “do it the right way.”