a little of both. "shifty jim douglas" (because he constantly tries to shift tax burdens and other problems to towns and schools) will continue his phony posturing about being the protector of the taxpayer and blame (more shifting) the leggie for every single economic problem that happens for the next 100 years. for gullible members of the public who remain stupified by his monotonous baritone and smooth rhetoric, shifty jim will look good. if the dems continue the recent pattern of being more aggressive and effective exposing his empty, self-serving tactics, and hammer home that he was, once again, trying to dump a huge tax burden on localities so he can look like the taxpayers' friend, then he'll lose some support. if he keeps trotting out the same tricks and policies and keeps shamelessly blaming everyone under the sun, i think the perception and reality of "douglas fatigue" will become a factor. the dems have to keep pointing out that shifty jim keeps identifying problems that place him on the side of the average vermonter (eg the school funding system is a disaster) but doesn't offer solutions. he waits for them to propose solutions so he can pick them apart.

he is a political tactician, not a leader, and we are in a time when leadership is essential.

in the short term, the over-ride is a big blow to his stature and it will help the dem gubernatorial candidates with fundraising, etc.

the biggest question is: how does this affect independents and swing democrats in the next election.
 

Most voters aren't even paying attention.
 

Say "bye-bye" to the super majority next year
 

say "bye-bye" the the GOP super majority in the Governor's office next year!
 

I think the veto override is a lot bigger deal in political circles than it is among the general public. It's insider baseball.
 

By the time of the 2010 election, this year's budget battle will be largely forgotten. The more important factor will be what happens with the FY2011 budget a year from now. God only knows how that will play out!