So what of Gov. Douglas' speech Thursday?

He spent months on the campaign trail talking about his Agenda of Affordability, the alliterative proposal he put forth last year (and I don't know if it's just coincidence but so did Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin. Maybe both of them reached into the bag of gubernatorial phrases and came out with the same one).

Douglas mentioned the Agenda of Affordability briefly Thursday, but he surprised more than a few in the audience who thought he'd turned his gubernatorial global positioning about 170 degrees to focus on future technology. The Vermont Way Forward, he called it, not even looking for alliteration.

His staff told us that this is where Douglas has been headed from the start of his time in office. Everything he did before was to build toward this.

Certainly, he has mentioned some of the items in his VWF before. Broadband and cell coverage were big on the campaign trail. He's championed biofuels before.

Are those who have registered surprise at the governor's approach wrong? Is it a good approach. Read the speech here if you haven't and weigh in.

- Terri Hallenbeck