NASHVILLE - In his first full day as Tennessee's governor-elect, Republican Bill Haslam arrived today at the state Capitol, where he met behind closed doors with Gov. Phil Bredesen to plan a smooth transition process.
The two later held a news conference in which they were greeted by cheering Republican legislators whose representation in the General Assembly was helped in part by Haslam's huge 65 percent to 33 percent victory over Democrat Mike McWherter on Tuesday.
"I believe that when you start any job, you should start by asking questions," said Haslam, who spent an hour meeting with Democrat Bredesen. "And there's no better person to ask those questions of than the person who's been doing that job for the past eight years."
Haslam said he hopes to make an announcement on who will lead his transition effort in the next several days.
Bredesen said that, while he didn't want to go into great detail about what he told Haslam, he acknowledged saying, "There is nothing more important that you are going to be doing than selecting the team" who will carry out his policies.
Haslam described himself as "very pleased" to have such strong Republican majorities in the state House and Senate.
Bredesen, meanwhile, said he was "sorry about some" of the Democrats who lost Tuesday, calling them "good people caught up in a tide." But he said he doesn't think Tennessee Democrats can be written off as a political force in the Volunteer State.
"Who knows what it's going to be like in another two or four years from now?" Bredesen said.