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Echoing President Barack Obama, Gov. Chris Gregoire said "this is what Wall Street has done to our state" when she proposed eliminating health insurance for the poor and reducing even further support for education and public safety.

The shift to populous, national rhetoric was a change for the Democrat, as was her seeming willingness to at least consider tax hikes to help the state deal with a $2 billion budget deficit. While Republicans rapped Gregoire for blaming far away stock traders for state woes and mimicking the recent political strategy of the president, the change in tone was welcomed by some of Gregoire's fellow Democrats and liberal allies. They had complained the two-term governor had been too willing to cut spending to help deal with the effects of the Great Recession.