Gov. Mark Dayton larded his state of the state address with a host of well-known names.
According to his prepared remarks, among them were former President George W. Bush, House Speaker Kurt Zellers, Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, their Democratic counterparts, former Govs. Wendell Anderson and Rudy Perpich (Dayton's political mentor), University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks, state college chancellor James McCormick, three members of the Minnesota National Guard who have been -- or will be -- deployed to Iraq and several members of his cabinet and administration.
Late in his speech, he repeated a Biblical admonition he has used before: "To whomsoever much has been given shall much be required."