Reaction from the pundits

Reaction from the capitol pundits on the State of the State:

* Conservative columnist John Hood said he appreciated Gov. Beverly Perdue's "call for fiscal conservatism" and an end to "business as usual" at the legislature, but wonders if state lawmakers are ready to follow.

* Liberal columnist Chris Fitzsimon said that Perdue didn't say anything about raising taxes to "protect vital services" and predicted that "market fundamentalists" were gleefully anticipating devastating cuts to the state budget.

* Conservative advocate Francis De Luca said that he appreciated Perdue's creation of a Web site with information about how the state is spending stimulus money and her remark that the state will have to cut programs.

* Liberal blogger Greg Flynn said that he "read the speech twice" to find specifics, but he'll have to wait for the budget to see the "big cuts" on the spending side, instead of revenue reform to broaden the tax base.