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Park City » Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. opened the 25th Western Governors Association on Sunday, then handed over control of the prestigious gathering to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the association's vice chairman.
Nevertheless, the agenda for the three-day meeting was largely shaped by Huntsman, WGA's chairman this year, to focus on some of his prominent causes, including brainstorming global energy, water and climate concerns.
Huntsman almost immediately bowed out of the host's role so he can return to Washington, D.C., in a couple of days and continue briefings for his Senate confirmation hearings on being appointed U.S. Ambassador to China.
Huntsman noted that the attendance list for the three-day conference includes an "all-star cast of leaders," saying it will be an "out-of-the-ballpark" couple of days. Then the Utah Republican stepped aside.
Schweitzer, a Democrat, was elected the association's chairman Sunday, and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, a Republican, was elected vice chairman.
The governors focused Sunday on varied topics and approved resolutions to start a work group for mapping a strategy to cope with climate change; urge a partnership with regional and national governments to address global warming; and two resolutions on transportation and storage of nuclear waste .
While many western governor's attended the conference, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and California
Prominent pollster and message expert Frank Luntz addressed the conference and shared results of opinion research his firm did earlier this year to gauge American attitudes on how well -- or poorly -- leaders are doing in addressing the concerns of the American public.
Westerners are more negative and more concerned about the direction the nation is going than any other region, he said. And they are more worried about losing their jobs and more confident that solutions lie in state capitols than in Washington.
"What the West is saying is 'enough,'" said Luntz, "solve it already and let's move on."
He noted that more Americans believe in UFO's than in the likelihood that Social Security will be available for them when they retire. He also pointed out that while about 77 percent of Americans believe they are better off than their parents, just 44 percent believe their children will be better off than they are.
Men, Luntz said, are most likely to be concerned about money, "protecting their wallets," while women are more likely to be concerned about time.
He said his formula for governors about "words that work" to connect with the public were "non-ideological, non-political."
Luntz is best known for his work in guiding the GOP on its political messages. He is associated with the Contract with America and adoption of the term "climate change" rather than "global warming."
Among the most useful words that governors can use, he said, are "imagine," "bold action," "comprehensive" and "long-term."
"If you're quiet, passive, they' don't think you're doing enough," he told the governors.
Luntz also pointed out that, for westerners, economic growth is much more important than the environment.
People who live in the West are more likely than people anywhere else to say they might lose their job within the year. In the West, about 25 percent said that statement applied to them, while only about 9 percent in the Northeast held that view.
But, he added, don't infer that Westerners don't care about the environment. "They don't want to maintain it as it is," he said. "They want more."
Madam Li Xiaolin, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries presented Cedar City Mayor Gerald Sherratt with a check for $5,000 for a statue of Helen Foster, who grew up in that central Utah town, later became the wife of journalist Edgar Snow and established herself as an expert on communism in China.
