He issued as perfect a statement as I have seen in a long time to frame the Rush to Close, setting himself up, as he has been for weeks, to declare victory at adjournment. You could see it coming for weeks, but the execution was nearly flawless.

Oh, there was hypocrisy and disingenuousness - but those aren't penalties in this game. Let's deconstruct what the governor said - I have edited the 750-word statement to make the major points:

One of my most important jobs as Governor is to raise issues and propose solutions that benefit the people of Nevada. If yesterday's LVCVA meeting and some of the comments that came out of that meeting are any indication, I have certainly done my job and inspired some rather spirited discussions. People who at one point said that no money could be spared are now willing to step up with millions. That is progress.

Point one: He started the discussion and now he has not only brought the Convention Authority to the table, but induced its leaders to open the agency's checkbook. Not bad, eh? And it has the added benefit of being true.

I have said from the beginning that my proposal is just that - a proposal - and that I was and am willing to listen to other suggestions and ideas in order to resolve this problem. I meant that then and I mean that now.

See how open-minded he is? Again, well done. Open-minded, that is, except for ...

However, I also said last year and have repeated often this year, I will not raise taxes on the people of this state. For anyone who doubts my resolve on this - let me make it clear one more time - I will not raise taxes to fund the transportation problems of our state, period.

Did you get that? He's against taxes. He repeats it again several times. I shall spare you that repetition. We get it.

Our state budget is over $7 billion dollars. That is a $954 million increase in state spending in just two years and represents a 16.5% increase over the prior biennium's budget. I doubt that many people in our state saw their paychecks increase by 16% over the past two years - and yet our state's budget will increase by that amount.

This is beautiful. Gibbons takes his own budget request - the budget he proposed! - and criticizes it as spendthrift. That is chutzpah.

I welcome the opportunity to participate in hearings regarding my proposal and other proposals. I look forward to Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley calling hearings on my proposed transportation plan. I look forward to hearing testimony from the LVCVA on the record about their concerns. The LVCVA is an excellent organization that has done wonderful work for our state. Their meeting yesterday showed that they are willing to come to the table and participate in the solution to this problem. I commend them for that. I have worked with members of the LVCVA before and look forward to working with them again.

Call him the love-all-people governor. He is so ecumenical, so eager to listen. So long, of course, as the excellent LVCVA gives up a lot of money and no taxes are raised.

I have been a member of the Nevada Legislature and a member of the Congress of the United States. I realize part of that process is compromise. I can accept compromise. I cannot, and the people of this state cannot, accept inaction. Therefore, I call on Speaker Buckley to schedule hearings on this transportation bill as soon as possible.

Beautiful framing: If there is no action taken, blame the Legislature. At least Gibbons tried. That's the bow on this package, this calculatingly effective statement by the governor.

One minor point, considering the entire statement is about pressuring Buckley to hold hearings on his transportation bill:

When he wrote this, there was no bill. Details, details.