IN SEARCH OF GOV. RELL'S AGENDA

For centuries, Connecticut has been a land of tinkerers. Let hotheaded
Massachusetts toss the tea in the harbor, or little Rhode Island
embrace the radical notion of religious freedom. Ours is a cautious
state, and that is one reason why Gov. M. Jodi Rell is so popular.
She's a tinkerer, too.

She claims to be content with the diminished returns of this
legislative session, even though both political parties voted to spend
a near-billion-dollar surplus and put off hard questions for another
day. Still, she ticks off this year's accomplishments: more money for
farmland preservation; a lower-cost health insurance program for
poorer citizens, set to begin in October; more money for education.

Three years ago, Ms. Rell took the oath of office after a corruption
scandal forced Gov. John Rowland to resign. With three and a half
years left in this term, there is still no overarching theme to her
administration.

From the beginning she has insisted publicly upon high ethical
standards. Yet she refuses to call for Louis DeLuca, a Republican
state senator, to step down. Mr. DeLuca admitted in June that he had
asked a man suspected of having mob ties to "visit" his
granddaughter's then-boyfriend, who the senator believed was abusing
her. Ms. Rell, the leader of the state G.O.P., is unconvincing when
she says that Senator DeLuca's behavior is between him and his
constituents. She knows better.

Similarly, it is hard to believe she is not disappointed in this
session, despite statements to the contrary. Realists believe that
Governor Rell has been forced to aim lower because Democrats in the
Legislature have such a large majority. Cynics believe she just wants
to guard her popularity. Neither side is correct.

As she demonstrated in vetoing this year's popular medical marijuana
bill, she is perfectly capable of taking a strong stand. Two years
ago, in perhaps her finest moment, she forced the Legislature to take
up real campaign finance reform, displaying behind-the-scenes
toughness that delighted her staff even as it remained largely unknown
to the public.

Because so many Connecticut residents instinctively trust Governor
Rell, at the very least she could use her popularity as a bully pulpit
to address the difficult structural problems that bedevil the state.
If she talks about what she thinks is important, people will listen.
If she couples it with action, so much the better.

Being content with a bill here, an initiative there, will fritter away
a great opportunity. The governor should be more than the tinkerer she
has become.