A couple of years ago Governor Kempthorne of Idaho chaired the National Governors Association (NGA). Long-term care was the big-focus issue under his chairmanship. Today, Minnesota Governor Pawlenty (above) chairs the NGA. He’s also reported to be on the short list to be John McCain’s vice presidential candidate pick.Unlike Governor Kempthorne, Baby Boomer Governor Pawlenty’s focus is far away from aging and long-term care. In fact, in his most recent Minnesota state budget proposal he cuts more than $130 million from the aging services budget over the next 8 years. A big chunk of those cuts will come from nursing homes. Most people don’t want to live in a nursing home. But the fact is 30,000 Minnesotans and their families rely on their care right now. Many of those government-funded nursing homes in Minnesota operate with less than 10 days cash on hand. We’d like to see our state’s leader (and potentially a national leader) show vision and help transform Minnesota and our country for the silver tsunami. It might very well involve changing funding tools (the status quo is unsustainable), but simply slicing aging services without any kind of long-term strategy for an unprecedented aging population isn’t vision or leadership – it’s a short-cut to a dead end.