By Denise Ross

Most - perhaps none - of the nation’s governors have served under any president other than George W. Bush. When Nathan Daschle told me that, my brow furrowed. To quote my pal Terry Woster, Could that be true?

Upon further reflection I realized that of course it must be true, given the nation’s penchant for 8-year term limits for elected executives.

Daschle’s larger point was that his pool of Democratic govs is very much looking forward to working under a Democratic president. Not only do they hope the arrangement will make life easier in Democrat-controlled statehouses, they hope to influence national policy.

And the influencer-in-chief very likely will be South Dakota’s neighbor to the northwest, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer who is the new chairman of the Dem Gov’s Association.

So, with Schweitzer in the chairman’s chair and Daschle the younger - a sorta South Dakotan - as the DGA’s exec director, it’s likely that the DGA’s communique’s with the Obama administration will at least be tempered by (if not driven by) western sensibilities. Guns, natural resources, agriculture.

Then there are the more universal issues, as Schweitzer told The Rothenberg Political Report earlier this month.

According to Schweitzer, … the discussion about Medicaid was particularly important. As the economy suffers and people lose their jobs, they are added to the state’s Medicaid rolls, at the same time when tax revenues are diminishing. Because governors can’t run up budget deficits in their states, there was talk of countercyclical payments to the states.

Daschle told me that he’s confident the state leaders will stay active in shaping national policy.

Democratic governors will have more of a leadership role on national policy matters than in the past. Expect the DGA to be at the center of that.

This is a pretty exciting time, because now they think they see somebody who’s, in their eyes, a better partner for them in the White House.

That assessment followed the Philadelphia meeting, where the Dems got to meet with Obama the night before the president-elect met with govs from both parties.

Read the Politico report on that here.

Obama used the hour-plus session today to discuss the upcoming stimulus package, and he pledged to partner with the chief executives as they grapple with budget deficits wrought by the economic downturn.

So, Gov. Rounds, now’s the time to send South Dakota’s warmest greetings to Gov. Schweitzer. Probably wouldn’t hurt to throw in a box of Sturgis jerky, some kuchen and a little fry bread for good measure.

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