By Danielle Emerson
Staff Writer
Posted: January 16, 2013 10:33 PM

As I sat on my six-to-eight inches of windowsill observing my first on-floor State of the State, I got the sense that it was much like an annual holiday party your friend invites you to: You know a chunk of people, meet some new ones, and everyone is mingling like they never see each other outside of this single, solitary event.

What also struck me as similar was the host thanking everyone for being there, for their help in x, y or z, and generally reflecting on the year that is about to (or in this case, already did) pass. And while it’s important to reflect, the host usually realizes in his or her address that it’s also important to look forward, which of course in the news industry is considered the real “meat” of the State of the State. And still like a holiday party, I thought, it doesn’t necessarily matter how good the party is, but how sustainable it becomes.

In the case of the holiday party, maybe you meet someone new or catch up with an old friend, leaving each other with the intention of doing a better job of keeping in touch this year. I sensed that same cautious optimism at one of the (what I thought to be) most awkward moments when Governor Rick Snyder acknowledged the “difficult” and “divisive” experience of lame duck 2012.

“I hope we can work together,” Mr. Snyder said. “We can have policy differences…but ultimately we’re hired by the citizens of Michigan.”

It was an olive branch from Mr. Snyder, but the awkward moment came when Republicans roared in support of the governor’s comments and most Democrats merely sat in their seats, looking at the governor, not reacting.

On one hand, the governor had somewhat acknowledged that he may have upset some folks, and I’m not sure how many times that’s been done before, especially in an address like the State of the State. Yet at the same time, he wanted to instill a sense of hope that he and the Legislature might move forward, kind of like the hope that “next year will be even better than this one” at the holiday party.

After the speech, Democratic lawmakers said what counts is actions, not words.

Regardless, the fact remains that Mr. Snyder laid out more ideas for how to grow the state than I can count on two hands (he admitted about a dozen). But much like the roads the governor wants to fix, there will no doubt be bumps ahead.