Kudos given where kudos due

I've been rather aggressive in detracting from our governor, so I would be remiss indeed if I did not praise him when he shows some courage and insight.

There are three or four staffers--cabinet officers--that I know personally who are top notch. One of them, Dick Ross, education superintendent, has been the target of a concerted Democrat and newspaper attack for several weeks now, pushing him toward resignation. In fact, we had heard rumors it was a fait accompli, made more likely by the resignation of a subsidiary official that created momentum (rather than blunting it).

The subsidiary official deserved what he got and more. Dick Ross didn't deserve the criticism at all. But with a presidential campaign winding up, the governor being a loose cannon on the decks of government, and too many Republican nitwits caving to anything the Democrats and newspapers (but I repeat myself) say, who knew what could happen? The safe bet probably would have been for another resignation (even though that would just add fuel to the fire).

But look what happened:

With some Democrats calling for the removal of state schools Superintendent Richard A. Ross, Gov. John Kasich was asked after a Michigan campaign stop on Saturday whether he was still 100 percent behind Ross.
“No, I’m not 100 percent behind him, I’m 1,000 percent behind him. He’s one of the best superintendents we’ve ever had,” the governor said.
Ross has taken heat for a top assistant scrubbing data to make charter schools look better, and for drawing up plans for a state takeover of Youngstown schools in private.
“Youngstown schools failed for nine years in a row, and this is the best thing that’s happened to Youngstown schools, and one of the best things that’s gonna happen to the city of Youngstown,” Kasich said. “And thank goodness we’ve got a superintendent that understands all this, and he is great — period, end of story. Stop the whining.”

It's not likely the state will do any better with the city school district, but that's not what's important to Democrats or newspapers. They're upset that Republicans exercised their power. Only Democrats are supposed to exercise power.

And who knows. There's always a chance that a tribe of monkeys will type Shakespeare, and maybe the Youngstown schools will improve after all.

(And let's not forget the obvious: Just because Kasich said it on Saturday doesn't mean he'll still be saying it Monday or next Saturday. But he's said it, firmly and in public, so hat's off to him.)