In yesterday's State of the State address, Gov. Linda Lingle took her pitch directly to the people with her wish list of tax cuts and promising initiatives to promote innovation in schools and business.

Clearly, when the 60-day time clock runs out, voters are going to expect some tax relief. That's the political reality. The job of the lawmakers is to decide how much the state can afford.

The increase in the standard deduction and the widening of the tax brackets would be improvements long overdue. These ideas have been endorsed by the state Tax Review Commission and deserve serious consideration by lawmakers.

The rebates would also be appreciated by taxpayers as something more than the token $1 giveback that the state constitution requires in surplus years.

The idea of exempting specific food items from the excise tax sounds inviting. But it inevitably begins a move toward a tax policy of exempting all foods, so it would be wrong to start down this path without considering the fullest repercussions.

Lesser tax breaks, such as those for child- and elder-care duties and for Hawai'i National Guard and Reserve soldiers, might play well, but they don't extend to taxpayers across the board and so seem marginal.

Finally, the question of whether the state should renew the excise tax waiver on gasoline with ethanol would need to be weighed against the loss of revenues that could help seed the state's move toward alternative fuels.

Lingle's speech also reprised other appealing themes made public earlier. In particular, her campaign to create a pathway for success for students in science, math and technological fields bodes well for the next generation. But both the executive branch and education officials need to collaborate on ways to bring students who may be struggling now into the pipeline as well. A strategy for outreach to students who now feel disqualified from the elite track is essential.

In all, the governor has set aside the more contentious issues featured in past legislative programs. There seems to be more openings for cooperation here — a hopeful message for a public weary of partisan politics.