Grade inflation? California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger won top marks in the Cato Institute’s seventh biennial fiscal performance report card on America’s governors. But Washington’s Gary Locke muscled his way into a tie for fifth place among senior governors.

Even though Locke’s performance rated a B, however, it’s not the kind of report card he would boast about to his parents, not after reading the personalized note in which Cato explained its rating.

“The credit should go to the Washington voters,” noted Cato, explaining that Locke’s tax-and-spend impulses were thwarted by voter-approved restraints and a Republican Legislature. The B, it seems, is derived from a list of “15 objective measures of fiscal performance” that value tax and spending restraint — regardless of circumstances.

Giving Locke a B for fiscal performance, then, is like giving Jimmy a B in arithmetic, knowing Mary fed him the answers.

Who’s supposed to be embarrassed by this, Locke or Cato?

Just the ticket. So, there you are, patiently waiting your place in a long line of traffic navigating a construction zone on Interstate 90, when a woman in an enormous SUV zooms alongside and honks to cut in. Between glances in the mirror to adjust her makeup, she glares when you don’t react quickly enough.

You have three options: Move closer to the car in front of you so she can’t cut. Allow her to cut. Make an obscene gesture.

In West Seattle, motorists at one onramp entrance to Interstate 5 have a fourth option: Wait for motorcycle police to motion the lane jumpers over and slap a $101 ticket on them. These officers are enormously popular with law abiders. Two national experts, interviewed by the Seattle Times, could name no other place where police issue citations for lane jumping.

With no end to interstate construction in sight, it may be a good idea to extend the practice to Spokane County – to reduce road rage, at a minimum. And to reward the long-suffering motorists who obey the road signs and queue up.