RICHMOND -
By Wednesday Governor-elect Bob McDonnell had earned a new title, and a new mission to go along with it.
Still bleary-eyed from a resounding victory in Tuesday's statewide election, McDonnell confessed to "focusing solely" on winning November 3.
"There's very little that I've done personally to think about what comes after, because I thought first and foremost you have to keep your eye on the ball."
With the governorship in hand, the former Hampton Roads lawmaker now must assemble a transition team and cabinet moving forward.
McDonnell assured a packed house at the Capitol Wednesday that he will tap members of both parties to deal with the Commonwealth's pressing issues.
"I want to bring people into this administration who are focused on one thing- that is getting results for the people of Virginia," declared the soon-to-be head of state. "I want to bring people in regardless of party affiliation."
It's a gesture that went over well with influential politicans- both on the state and national level.
President Obama phoned McDonnell to offer his congratulations Wednesday morning, as did current governor Tim Kaine.
"It's important to get this transition right," observed Kaine, "and we'll definitely set a standard for how to do that."
Kaine explained he would be offering his final budget in the near future, and hoped to give McDonnell a starting off point for tackling another hairy revenue scenario.
"My goal is to make as many of the hard decisions as I can, on my way out the door, to hopefully buy a little bit of time for the incoming governor," said Kaine.
McDonnell expressed gratitude for the cooperation between administrations, but still wondered why an outgoing governor would be writing a new budget plan in the first place.
"That's one of the ideas the Lieutenant Governor and I suggested early on," quipped McDonnell, "changing the budget cycle so that we don't have this disconnect between the new governor and not being able to submit my own budget."
Sticking to the platform that won him the general election, McDonnell promised residents we would be announcing a plan in the coming weeks for creating more jobs immediately- his top priority.
Still bleary-eyed from a resounding victory in Tuesday's statewide election, McDonnell confessed to "focusing solely" on winning November 3.
"There's very little that I've done personally to think about what comes after, because I thought first and foremost you have to keep your eye on the ball."
With the governorship in hand, the former Hampton Roads lawmaker now must assemble a transition team and cabinet moving forward.
McDonnell assured a packed house at the Capitol Wednesday that he will tap members of both parties to deal with the Commonwealth's pressing issues.
"I want to bring people into this administration who are focused on one thing- that is getting results for the people of Virginia," declared the soon-to-be head of state. "I want to bring people in regardless of party affiliation."
It's a gesture that went over well with influential politicans- both on the state and national level.
President Obama phoned McDonnell to offer his congratulations Wednesday morning, as did current governor Tim Kaine.
"It's important to get this transition right," observed Kaine, "and we'll definitely set a standard for how to do that."
Kaine explained he would be offering his final budget in the near future, and hoped to give McDonnell a starting off point for tackling another hairy revenue scenario.
"My goal is to make as many of the hard decisions as I can, on my way out the door, to hopefully buy a little bit of time for the incoming governor," said Kaine.
McDonnell expressed gratitude for the cooperation between administrations, but still wondered why an outgoing governor would be writing a new budget plan in the first place.
"That's one of the ideas the Lieutenant Governor and I suggested early on," quipped McDonnell, "changing the budget cycle so that we don't have this disconnect between the new governor and not being able to submit my own budget."
Sticking to the platform that won him the general election, McDonnell promised residents we would be announcing a plan in the coming weeks for creating more jobs immediately- his top priority.
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