Fortunately for Tim Kaine, Virginia's governor-elect, the state's problems are fewer. Unlike the mess Gov. Mark Warner inherited in 2001. Virginia is carrying a surplus. There's no multi-billion dollar shortfall waiting to be addressed with spending cuts and tax hikes. The tax battle was fought and won in 2004.

That doesn't mean that there aren't any dragons left for Kaine to slay. One fierce beast in particular still menaces Virginia's quality of life: Transportation.

True to his word, Kaine has already begun addressing the issue he promised would dominate his first year in office: Transportation, which has been chronically given short shrift by a legislature that often seems obsessed with sex or other social issues. The governor-elect is already assembling a team to help him address that issue. Town hall meetings will be held across the state to address citizens' concerns and set regional priorities.

Kaine has vowed to amend the state constitution in order to keep the legislature from spending money earmarked for transportation projects on other things. In the meantime, Kaine has promised to veto any attempts at spending transportation funds on other programs.

Breaking bad habits and getting legislators to agree to keep their collective hands off the transportation trust fund will take a massive bipartisan effort on Kaine's behalf to reach out to Republicans and Democrats alike.

That sort of aisle-crossing diplomacy ? the kind we've become accustomed to during Mark Warner's administration ? is one of the main reasons we endorsed Tim Kaine in the first place.

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