Ed Rendell is, without a doubt, the state's most successful politician. Even now, Philadelphians think with nostalgia about his days as mayor. That is not necessarily a judgment on the Street administration, but simply the desire to recapture a time of energy, growth and unbridled optimism. When he occupied City Hall there was a sense that the city counted and that after playing third fiddle to New York and Washington, the city had acquired importance, and had taken its rightful place alongside the big cities.

By way of contrast, the most recent news put us behind Phoenix in population and we have fallen into fifth place. Some say that is not all bad news because it just means that Phoenix has to deal with the problems of sudden growth and Philadelphia has more housing available. For cities, growth is not always a good thing-stability is. Rendell's record as mayor was mixed, because the impression persists that he did not tackle the problems of education and the decay in the infrastructure of many neighborhoods and only focused on creating a showplace in Center City.

Now, as governor, the problems of Philadelphia seem to follow him. Rendell is obviously playing in a much larger arena, and the problems of every city in the state end up in Harrisburg. The schools are still a problem and the state could lose some $440 million in federal money if the legislature fails to approve a plan to identify academically struggling schools and improve their test scores by the fall. The plan has been approved for all 50 states and they are all required to submit plans to the federal government in January. The program is part of the No Child Left Behind Act signed by President Bush. Rendell is also asking for approval of some measures to institute full-day kindergarten and preschool programs. The legislation proposed by the governor has been introduced in the House but is stuck in committee. It is a broad bill containing proposals aimed at improving school quality.

The governor would like to fund some of his initiatives including legalizing slot machines at horse racing tracks. Revenues of $1 billion are expected if the legislation supported by Rendell and the leaders of the House passes. One of the remaining difficulties in the passage of the legislation is Rendell's insistence on spending about half a billion dollars to pay for state paid preschool and smaller class sizes among other initiatives. There will be some "real tax reform" according to Sen. Allen Kukovich, a Democrat. In 2002 Ed Rendell was the Politician of the Year.

In 2003 he has been laboring in Harrisburg trying to move legislation and campaigning state wide to help other politicians who might help him in the capital. The stage is larger and perhaps in the long run he will have more impact on the lives of all Pennsylvanians. For the moment, his shining star seems to be dimmed by the distance from the larger city and the fact that the routine political struggles do not provide high drama. But Ed Rendell has shown that he is a resourceful and charismatic politician. Few politicians work harder or are better at campaigning. When he was mayor he would be seen at midnight gatherings and breakfasts meetings still exuding confidence and optimism.

He is also the kind of leader that attracts talented people to work in politics, and he has attracted a lot of young people to Harrisburg representing the energy and optimism of the future. On the national stage, as head of the Democratic Party, he was able to gather the party resources to make the last election a closer race than even he expected. He was later chastised for having recognized reality a bit sooner than other Democratic leaders saying on national television that Al Gore should admit defeat.

But across the nation, he is recognized as a man of vision and energy. Harrisburg could just be a platform for bigger things. Rendell could be the vice presidential candidate on a Democratic ticket to offer balance and experience. Or he himself could be the candidate in 2008.