Happily, it appears that the opening-day spasm of veto overrides in the Georgia House of Representatives will represent the sum-total of House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s nose-thumbing at the governor.

Following the Banner-Herald’s Tuesday editorial criticizing Richardson and the House for using the first day of the General Assembly session to concentrate on overriding Gov. Sonny Perdue’s vetoes of legislation from last year’s session, instead of getting an early start on water, transportation, education and taxation issues, I got a call from Richardson’s spokeswoman, Clelia Davis.

Saying she was sure she wasn’t going to be able to change the newspaper’s frequent criticism of the speaker, Davis added that the Tuesday overrides of a dozen of the 41 bills vetoed by Gov. Sonny Perdue (approximately 30 of which originated in the House) represented all of the overrides that the House would pursue.

Good morning, all.

Let me explain: If you want to deflect criticism, then be honest with the people. Period.

It’s a simple formula. So maybe members of the Clarke County Board of Education could find time to commit it to memory. Instead of ducking for cover behind board attorney recommendations and following the letter, if not the spirit of a state law, let me offer that a little honesty would go a long way toward rehabbing their image as a bitter, racially divided parliament of fools.