The two biggest head scratchers from the Beshear administration have been his casino proposal and his late support for a 70 cent increase in the cigarette tax. It appears Beshear didn't vet either plan with his "friends" in Democratic House leadership before introducing them. His casino plan was dead within 24 hours as house leaders vowed to cut the number of proposed casinos from 12 to 9 and decided not to push the enabling legislation that would provide the who, what, where and how much if casinos were approved by voters.

Beshear was given repeated chances to back off his pledge not to raise the cigarette tax, but refused to do so. The most recent incident came two weeks ago when Rep. Dr. David Watkins told me and Greg Stotelmyer that Beshear promised not to veto a 70 cent hike in the cig tax if it got to his desk. Instead of saying something like "well, if the legislature wants to approve a big hike in the cigarette tax, I won't veto it, but I won't push it either," Beshear denied making the "no veto" comment to Watkins. In response, Dr. Watkins smiled and said it must have been a misunderstanding.

Now, Beshear has socked his "friends" in the House by "ambushing" them with a proposal to raise the cigarette tax by 70 cents. Again, his plan was shot down within 24 hours.

Beshear's proposals may be the best ones on the table. He can make a strong case for his casino plan and a 70 cent hike in the cig tax. But this governor apparently hasn't figured out that a little legislative buy-in is necessary to get anything done in Frankfort. Sound familiar?

Ernie Fletcher rolled into office facing a budget shortfall. He proposed a budget and basically stuck to it. But ultimately the legislature left town at the end of its 2004 session without a budget, with a court case and a threat of government shut down. Fletcher got the blame. And remember his disastrous plan to revamp the state's health insurance for teachers and state employees? That brought school teachers carrying protest placards to a march around the capitol. Fletcher never vetted that plan with lawmakers or if he did, he didn't listen. But at least Ernie Fletcher didn't have his "friends" in the republican-controlled state senate taking public potshots at him like Beshear's getting now from House Democratic leaders.

Beshear doesn't have a "hidden door" in the capitol and he's not making the C-J reporters submit their questions in writing. He doesn't have Wes Irvin and Daniel Groves as the face men for his administration. What he has had, so far, is the ability to place himself on a deserted political island, all by himself. And it's a lonely place. Just ask Ernie Fletcher.