KEATING LEAVES HAPPY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Gov. Frank Keating says he is leaving office a happy
man, and is keeping the door ajar for a return to politics in future years.
With just over a month left in office, Keating pointed to passage of right
to work, record road and capital improvement construction and his
leadership after the Oklahoma City bombing as his biggest accomplishments.

"I really believe that my greatest legacy will be that 'Keating was
governor when the sun came up'," he said on his efforts to "lift up the
state" and give "a new sense of confidence to an Oklahoma that was very
short on confidence."

Keating said he is looking forward to settling in at his new job as
president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based American Council of Life
Insurers.

"I love the industry," he said, while hinting he was not through with
politics forever.

"Years from now, if the president wanted me to help him, or if the
opportunity to run for public office presented itself, I might consider
it," he said.

He said he planned to return to Oklahoma, a state he said was once mainly
known for winning football teams and not for excellence in such areas as
education and economic development.

Keating said that began to change under his watch and Oklahoma has become
well thought of outside its borders.

The GOP governor was often accused by his political foes of excessively
pointing out Oklahoma's shortcomings and comparing the state unfavorably to
neighboring Texas.

Keating, who was forced to apologize for some of his off-the-cuff remarks
at home, said he always tried to put the state in a good light in his
appearances on national television shows and other forums.

He said the low-point of his time in office was clearly the ethical
questions that were raised because he accepted $250,000 from retired Wall
Street financier Jack Dreyfus, who was promoting use of the drug Dilantin
among violent prison inmates.

Keating, a former federal official, said the gift was intended to be used
for the education of his children and he cleared it with ethics officials
in Washington before becoming governor.

"Jack has been a friend of mine for 20 years," Keating said. "His kindness
to my children was mischaracterized. That was an unhappy time for me."

He said a controversy over his use of a state airplane for campaign
appearances was "just politics, but it wasn't a blow that I felt was beyond
the pale."

During the recent gubernatorial campaign, Keating said Gov.-elect Brad
Henry gave him "an extraordinary compliment" by telling a group that the
ideas generated the last eight years had "largely come from this office.
You know, getting rid of the income tax; passing right to work; fixing
workers comp; privatizing prisons; tort reform; welfare reform; charter
schools; choice; education reform.

"I think the metaphor for it all certainly is the cleanup of North Lincoln,
the building of the Great Museum of Oklahoma and restoration of the well
sites and the finality of the dome, which is the certain trumpet signal of
optimism and pride.

"I can say with no exaggeration that I've worked as hard as I could to make
Oklahoma a better place and I hope that it's a better place as a result of
my service."

Keating was the prime mover behind putting a $21 million dome on the
Capitol, raising virtually all of the money for the structure from private
sources. It was dedicated last month.

He mentioned his battles with the Democratic majority in the Legislature,
calling the atmosphere "horrific" when he took office in 1995.

Democrats contend Keating created the tense political climate by calling
them such names as "dunderheads" and relentlessly campaigning to defeat
them and elect a GOP majority in the Legislature, something he was unable
to accomplish.

Keating pointed with pride to his record 302 vetoes and the fact that he
was never overridden.

Despite some rough spots, Keating said "some remarkable accomplishments"
occurred during his two four-year terms, including passage of tough
environmental laws governing pig and poultry production and compacts with
Indian tribes on such things as motor fuel and auto tags.

"Out of a conservative administration, for me to be given the Sierra Club
Award by Bobby Kennedy Jr., no less, that's pretty significant," Keating said.

Regardless of the current state budget dilemma, Keating said the state had
made strides in its economy by improving its per capita income and
increasing manufacturing investment.

Keating said he had no regrets for pushing policies that increased the
state prison budget from $200 million to almost $400 million.

"The proof is in the pudding," he said. "The crime rate is substantially
down and that is something that was not the case for years."

However, he said he does believe that something needs to be done to empty
prisons of so many people convicted of drug possession and alcohol-related
offenses, a condition he blamed on overzealous prosecutors.

He said highways "have never been in better shape" as he leaves office,
with more than 1,000 highway miles built and additions to the turnpike system.

"Every community of 10,000 or more is connected to the interstate system by
a four-lane highway," he said.

Looking to the state's future, Keating said he hoped Henry would pursue his
proposal to eliminate the income tax for retirees and press for cuts in
school administrations costs, which he says are twice what they should be.

The outgoing governor said he could even back a one-cent sales tax increase
for education to ease the current budget woes if it were accompanied by
enough reform.

He said he was disappointed he never got his "four-by-four" education
program that would have required all students to take four years each of
math, science, English and social studies. "But we got close," he said,
pointing to acceptance of the 4-4-3-3 ACT core curriculum.

He said a trip to China recently convinced him that more rigor is needed in
American schools. "They are going to blow our doors off if we don't have
tougher education," he said.

During his tenure, Keating said Oklahoma had become a true two-party state
and that's to Oklahoma's benefit.

He rejected a comparison of his departure to that of former Democratic Gov.
Johnston Murray, who moved to Texas after leaving office in the 1950s with
a denunciation of his fellow Democrats and the status of state government.

"There's no comparison to mine and Johnston Murray's experience," Keating
said. "First of all, he left the state and went to Texas, and secondly, I'm
coming back."

He said Oklahoma has changed for the better since then, with improvements
in many areas, including roads.

"In Johnston Murray's day, Republicans were searched out with headlights on
Saturday night," he continued. "There weren't many Republicans. It was a
racist state...It was a state where rural and urban interests hated each
other."

He said Murray left office "defeated by his own party and unhappy. I'm
leaving office with no animosity, with no hostility to anyone.

"I'm very happy with my service and Cathy and I have never been happier as
a couple."