Fellow Oklahomans and friends:
Last year, I began a journey across Oklahoma – an Oklahoma rich in history and tradition, and in decent and honorable people who enhance the legacy of our great state by their hard work and good deeds.
My initial journey into the heart of Oklahoma has come to an end. Another journey begins today. I am honored and humbled to stand before you as your Governor.
President John F. Kennedy often observed that the Chinese character translated as "crisis" is formed by two symbols - one meaning “danger" and the other meaning "opportunity."
Today, we Oklahomans face what many have called the greatest budget crisis in our young state's history. The dangers are obvious. The opportunities, while less apparent, are far more important.
This crisis demands of us to take stock of our strengths, to dedicate ourselves to a common purpose, and to come together as Oklahomans of all faiths, backgrounds and political parties.
This is not the time for partisan bickering. This is not the time for politics as usual. Some of us are Democrats. Some of us are Republicans. Some of us are Independents. Above all, we must be Oklahomans first.
And, as Oklahomans, let us do our part to restore civility to our political discourse. Let us lead by example. Let us not dishonor the values and traditions of our state.
And, as Oklahomans, we need to focus on our strengths and on what we have accomplished. These are the beacons of light that will guide us in the days ahead. On these strengths we will build our future.
Today is a time to sketch our dreams, to heed the words of the proverb: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Last night, people of many faiths and denominations gathered to pray for peace in our world, to pray for compassion for our poor and sick and dispirited, and to unite in asking for blessing and assistance in the tasks at hand. That community of faith is but one of our strengths.
Today, you have seen others who represent our strengths. They include our bright young students, like Prerna Gupta, who is an undergraduate at Stanford University and was taught by my wife, Kim, in Shawnee.
Our strengths also include our heroic veterans, like the famed Kiowa Black Leggings Society, who performed so inspirationally today, and our other veterans, heroes who served in World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm. And they include our many men and women in uniform serving here and abroad during this critical time. We are proud of all of them and wish for their safety and speedy return.
And our strengths include our vibrant arts community – represented by Leona Mitchell, who projects what is great about Oklahoma on the opera stages of the world. They include the phenomenal Ambassador’s Choir, as well as our living treasures, the great Charles Banks Wilson and the Indian Ballerinas.
Our strengths can also be found in our scholarly and literary community, today so well represented by Dr. Scott Momaday, one of Oklahoma’s leading citizens of letters. Through his writings on Native American traditions, he reveals to us one of our greatest strengths: the cultural richness of the first Oklahomans, our Indian nations and tribes.
As the husband, son and grandson of school teachers, I particularly salute those dedicated Oklahomans who commit themselves to the highest calling. For only by nurturing the minds and strengthening the values of our children can we give them an opportunity to be full, productive citizens, to reach their God-given potential, and to have good jobs right here in Oklahoma. I will encourage our best and brightest to become teachers, and, as your Governor, I will work – in good times and bad – to give our teachers the tools and resources they need to do their job.
These strengths come from character and values, and this celebration also emphasizes the remarkable character of our wonderful state. Oklahomans value our children and our seniors. Oklahomans value traditions of faith. Oklahomans value our heroes, our veterans. Oklahomans value innovation and the creative arts. Those values define the character of our state.
But we also celebrate today the wellspring of character – our families. Indeed, we are a state built by strong families. In many ways, the people of our entire state are like an extended family. We Oklahomans care for each other. We share a sense of humor and a sustaining compassion for each other.
As we celebrate the Oklahoma family, please allow me a personal moment to reflect on my family: my incredible wife, who will make Oklahoma proud to have her as our First Lady. Kim: I love you, and the people of Oklahoma are going to see why I do.
Just as this address celebrates the great strength of this state’s children, it is also about my own children - Leah, Laynie and Baylee. It is for their generation that we must succeed so that jobs and opportunities will keep them in Oklahoma.
I'm grateful that my mother is here today. She gave me her easygoing nature and joy of life. She taught me to laugh at myself even when life seemed difficult. Mom, I love you very much.
My father is here in spirit - for he passed away two years ago. I am sustained by that spirit, fortified by his life and elevated by his example. I’m sure he has a warm smile as he looks down on these festivities today. I think you all would have liked my father, and I will do my best to show his compassion and wisdom throughout my tenure.
This inaugural is for all of us, but it is especially for him, for it was Dad, along with Granddad and my Uncle Lloyd, who taught me about the obligations of public service. As my uncle liked to say, "Service is the rent you pay for the space you occupy." And, throughout our history, great Oklahomans have been doing a lot more than just occupying space.
How is it, people ask me, that Oklahomans created the pioneering Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center? People from other states ask how we built our Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, that has led every school in the nation, both public and private, in ACT scores in two out of the past three years.
They ask me how we can lead the nation in the number of communities that have set up voluntary private foundations to help their local public schools.
They ask how we have become international leaders in university research at institutions like OU and OSU in areas such as meteorology, sensor technology, and biogenetics, which will create a stronger economy for our state.
They wonder at the great generosity within our state, the kind that motivated Henry Zarrow to recently pledge $1 million to the Tulsa public schools.
Why is it, people want to know, that Oklahoma has produced more astronauts than any other state?
How is it that our state can aspire, even in these times, to build at the crossroads of this nation a Native American Cultural Center that will not only celebrate our heritage but serve as an engine for economic development in Oklahoma? When we build that museum, it will be a fine complement to the Museum of Natural History, the largest of its kind in the nation.
Why have these things happened? Because great Oklahomans did then what we do today: they harnessed their potential, they dreamed dreams, they met challenges. We have a long and amazing history of coming together in difficult times to help one another, to build each other up, and not to tear each other down.
The naysayers need to be reminded of what we have done and what we must do. As Will Rogers might have said, “Oklahoma is busting at the seams with excellence.” In fact, we are poised to be a national leader if we courageously build on these foundations.
We already lead the 14-state southern region in ACT scores. We are in the top nine states in our nationally Board-certified teachers - the most effective merit pay plan yet devised. Our Oklahoma-trained teachers are the envy of our greedy neighbors, who raid our schools to steal our best teachers. We must turn them back.
Clearly, when we invest in education and research it pays us back many times over. Even with inadequate revenues, we have achieved much.
Now more than ever, we must invest education. Our very future depends upon it. As the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "The test of morality of a society is what it does for its children."
And, we also have the right ingredients to move our economy forward. Oklahoma's efforts in economic development and diversification have made our situation better than many states. In publications and studies that rank business climates, Oklahoma is in the top five in the nation.
We have abundant natural resources and a favorable climate. We have inexpensive utilities, an industrious workforce, and a career tech system envied by all. Indeed, we are ready to soar.
Government serves basic and necessary functions, but it doesn’t hold all the answers. This administration will look to the private sector and public-private partnerships to get the job done when government can’t do it alone. We have much to learn from private ventures and charitable institutions. We can use joint ventures and partnerships to accomplish new goals.
So, we will take stock and celebrate our strengths. We will forge new partnerships. We will use the opportunity side of crisis to make our government more efficient. We will improve our educational system, strengthen our infrastructure, and celebrate the arts that not only educate and innovate, but also ennoble us.
Before we close, I want to thank our predecessors, Gov. Frank Keating and First Lady Cathy Keating. They put the full force and weight of the Governor’s Office behind a smooth, organized and efficient transition. We salute them for their years of leadership and service to our state, and we will be calling on them to continue to help us make progress.
I ask not only for your help but also for your patience and understanding. It is my intention to deliver the most skilled, experienced and bipartisan team I can - with proven records of success in both the public and private sectors - to lead us from the current crisis toward a bright future.
Again, this inaugural is about character, and it is not in Oklahoma's character to fail.
This has been about the character of our forebears, men and women who were here in Oklahoma first and those who came later, bringing grit and determination for a better life to this harsh but promising young state a century ago.
But, in the end, it is about the character of each of us, Oklahomans one and all. With patience, hard work, vision, and pulling together we will face the future with courage and confidence. We will emerge from these hard times as we have in the past: stronger than ever before!
Let us be bold. Let us be brave. Let us be together.
As Scott Momaday taught us earlier, Oklahoma is not just a destination. It is a destiny: “Now we come in our turn. Now we come to a new destiny. Now we come to a new consecration of this holy place. Now we come in our turn. To stand on this ground between our forebears and our children. To build understanding on what has been. To build greatness on what will be.”
God bless you, and God bless Oklahoma.