Woody Allen once said 80 percent of life is just showing up. Bev Perdue is proving that showing up is 90 percent of following Mike Easley.

One Raleigh Democrat said last week she had seen Governor Perdue four times since her inauguration: at a Washington event, at a Lillian’s List meeting, at Bob Scott’s funeral and at Roger Bone’s funeral.

This person said she didn’t see Easley four times in four years.

In Raleigh, the consensus is that Perdue is off to a strong start. That’s partly because Raleigh was eager for a change from Easley. After eight years, people get tired of anything. Except The Andy Griffith Show.

But there’s more to being Governor than showing up. Easley successfully navigated a budget crisis his first year, and he took the tough step of supporting tax increases.

Perdue faces a more serious crisis, and she’s not eager to endorse raising taxes. She has warned that there will be pain, but there will be screams anyway.

Gene Conti says DOT will have to get away from depending on the gas tax. The mental health crisis remains. And North Carolina’s economic boom of the last 30 years is imperiled.

The first weeks of an administration are largely symbolic. It’s amazing what a new tone and a few executive orders can do.

But the real test of a governor is getting the ship – and its new crew – through the rocks, shoals and rip currents of the first year.

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