| National Journal is just out with "The Six Most Dysfunctional State Governments" and the Palmetto State comes in at number 5. Yayyy, us! The ratings are based on four criteria: - The quality of leadership -- by the state's legislature, its current governor and, where applicable, its ousted governor.
- The whiff of criminality in the state's top political leadership.
- The severity of the state's policy challenges.
- The intensity of the media circus surrounding state government.
Each state is graded in each category on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the worst, the most severe or the most intense, and 1 representing the most benign. The categories are averaged to produce a final score and ranking.
On the issue of leadership, we get a big spankin' 10: After his now infamous sojourn to Buenos Aires to visit his mistress, Gov. Mark Sanford (R) returned to South Carolina in a drastically weaker position than when he left. He had already alienated many in his state with his effort -- blocked by the courts -- to decline certain federal stimulus monies. Then he irked political leaders and constituents by leaving the state for several days without providing forwarding information. Finally, after his return, Sanford inexplicably volunteered to journalists a wealth of details about his unsettled personal life.
Our next best, uh, worst score is for "Media Circus" - a 9: The Sanford story caught fire internationally and bequeathed a new euphemism -- "hiking the Appalachian Trail" -- to the English language. But as Sanford looks more and more likely to stay put, South Carolina has already begun to return to normalcy. Our "statewide challenges" merit a 7 due to the unemployment rate and other issues such as infant mortality, premature births, stroke, diabetes, smoking prevention and violent crime. About the only thing we come out looking good on is "criminality" where we get a score of 2. The other five states (and rankings) on the list are:
6. California
4. Alaska
3. Illinois
2. Nevada
1. New York
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