The rumor mill has been insisting for a while now that Governor Pataki has aspirations to be the President of the United States. After listening to last week’s State of the State Address, one can ascertain that these may be more than rumors. It appeared that Pataki was talking to the rest of America just as much as he was talking to New York State. His speech was custom-built for a national audience.

Pataki seemed locked into four distinct facets of policy – education, global competitiveness, safety, and energy dependency - that have been selling points in recent national elections. Knowing that these four subjects will receive an even greater emphasis in coming elections due to our rapidly-shrinking world, Pataki played his cards well, speaking quite eloquently of these items. Rather than using the standard micro-management presentation of focusing on New York and only New York, he employed a big picture mentality, using New York more as an example of what he could do and as an epicenter of national benefit.

A typical gubernatorial address would focus on improving education within the state as a means to be competitive with other states or to give a modicum of expectations to the state’s teachers union. Pataki, instead, took his vision to another level. With vigor similar to George W Bush’s initial discussions about No Child Left Behind, Pataki spoke of the need to improve science, math, and engineering standards to make the workforce of tomorrow intellectually superior to the economy’s knowledge-hungry competition in China and India.

This global direction did not end there as the Governor cited needs for innovation and the creation of a business environment more conducive to competing in the global marketplace. This vast vision and "us versus them" mentality is something employed by a man intent on making America as a whole a much better place.

The safety issue was just as universal in its scope with Pataki sounding almost Bush-like yet again. He commented on the need to maintain the well-being of our people via continued diligence against terror. And, then, through somewhat coded language, he praised the successes of our forces in the Middle East. It is without a doubt that his pro-military comments elicited a positive response from many in the upper reaches of national leadership.

Pataki took the national Republican message even further in his speech, addressing the need for resource independency. He commented at length on our addiction for petroleum-based products and how we need some sort of protectionist system that would allow us to safely and cleanly extract resources from our own borders and ultimately satisfy our own demands. This mirrors the energy policy that the Bush administration has promoted in earnest over the past few years. Once again, Pataki addressed an item of national concern, sparing a New York mindset.

Perhaps intended as some sort of damage control, this speech did wonders for marketing the Governor to the Republicans on a national level. He emphasized a myriad of strategic approaches that are closely aligned with the party’s standard views. This is in stark contrast to the Governor Pataki that we have known since 1995. Over his governorship he has been a "Democrat in Republicans’ Clothing", possessing a track record of governmental outreach more situated to a left - if not far left - mentality. He has strengthened social welfare programs like Medicaid, called for gun control, promoted gay rights, created a tight friendship with unions, and promoted a liberal view of abortion. This speech attempted to dispel his leftist image by going even beyond the aforementioned national policies and highlighting past and future tax cuts, workers compensation reform, and a higher moral calling that asks for the containment of sex predators.

With this State of the State Address Pataki made a good-sounding case for his return to the conservatism that defined the earliest years of his reign. He knows, though, that actions speak louder than words and will make his intent to be the most powerful Republican in the world more believable through what he accomplishes in his last year in Albany. The state won’t be saddled with a lame duck governor meekly riding out the end of his term. Instead, New Yorkers will find themselves on a wild ride, riding the coattails of a leader intent on polishing his image and making a name for himself that America soon won’t forget.