FLYING GOVERNOR RAISES A FEW EYEBROWS

If Gov. Bob Holden flew on commercial flights, he would be about due for a lifetime pass after just six months in office.

Or at least free tickets for the rest of his four-year term.

According to The Associated Press, which documented the governor's travels in a recent news story, Holden has spent more time in the state-owned jet than any of his predecessors. In his first five months in office, Holden flew 75 percent more than Gov. Mel Carnahan did in his last two years.

There is nothing unusual at all about a governor's flights around the state. In fact, anyone who has tried to get from one corner of Missouri to another by auto can certainly appreciate the convenience and time savings of flying.

But there are disturbing ripples from the reports that Holden has spent about 15 days out of every month jetting around the state.

For example, Holden is the governor whose lot includes the first economic downturn the state has experienced since Carnahan became governor in 1993.

Holden was the one who, the week before his inauguration, had to tell taxpayers that state government was in a financial hole.

Holden is the governor who signed a budget for the next fiscal year with no pay increases for state employees.

Holden is the governor whose mantra has been fiscal responsibility and restraint.

So it's easy to see why many Missourians would be put out upon learning that Holden also is the frequent-flying governor who, on several occasions has flown back and forth between the same two cities twice in the same day.

Indeed, Holden is the governor whose original budget plan called for the purchase of two new airplanes. The jet the governor currently uses is only three years old and cost $2.3 million.

Holden later scrubbed the budget request for new planes as his own personal sacrifice in the statewide belt-tightening.

Even though the distances between Missouri's farthest points can be daunting to motorists, they are barely long enough to get a jet up in the air and down again. It would be almost impossible to take off from any airport in Missouri in a jet and get up to optimum, fuel-efficient speed before having to descend for a landing at another Missouri airport.

And don't forget that while Holden was flying around the state to build unity and support for his programs -- an explanation that might not pass the straight-face test of any legal proceeding -- the General Assembly was in session and could have used a good dose of gubernatorial leadership.