Jan. 29--Shortly after he took office back in 2003, Gov. Ted Kulongoski was having trouble with his computer printer, so he called the state techies for help. Here's how it went:

"Hi, this is Gov. Kulongoski."

"Who?"

"Gov. Kulongoski."

"Can you spell that?"

The man with the difficult name doesn't have that problem these days. But as Kulongoski enters his last regular legislative session, it's not whether he'll be remembered, but how.

Chances are good it won't be for "branding" Oregon to attract tourists. Or for reforming higher education. Or for getting more people to canoe the Willamette River -- all ideas the governor championed at one time or another in his six years in office.

On a recent stroll between the state Library and the Capitol, Kulongoski acknowledged a tendency to flit from topic to topic. Now, he says, he's sunk his teeth into an issue that neatly combines Oregon's environmental ethos with his self-description as a "jobs Democrat." This time, he says, he won't let go.

Despite the fiscal pummeling the state is taking, he says, he promises to be the governor who puts Oregon on the front lines of what he firmly believes will be the next economic revolution: green energy.

In the short run, Kulongoski undoubtedly will be judged not on how many solar cells the state produces, but on how he handles the current crises -- whether Oregon classrooms stay open for the full academic year, whether the unemployment rate tops out and slides back down before he leaves office in 2011.

But Kulongoski, who has spent most of his adult life in politics, takes the long view.

In the twilight of a political career that has included posts in all three branches of government, he seeks the same environmental footing as former Govs. Tom McCall, Bob Straub and John Kitzhaber.

When history writers decades from now take stock of the Kulongoski administration, he says, they won't care about one more budget meltdown. So in the midst of Oregon's worst economy in decades, he's pushing to make sure they'll write about windmills, solar panels, electric cars, and buoys turning ocean waves into energy.

"They're going to look back," he predicts, "and say Oregon planted the flag first."

It's Day Two of the legislative session, and Kulongoski's working behind the scenes to line up support for his energy package. He's summoned Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, to his private office for a chat.

Cannon, chairman of the House Environment and Water Committee, will play a key role in Kulongoski's plans to lure more clean energy companies to Oregon through tax breaks, new building codes and a limit on carbon emissions. The governor welcomes him with a handshake and a broad grin.

It doesn't take long to figure out they're on the same page. Cannon finds little to dislike about the governor's push for climate change laws or about the man himself.

"I wish there was a way of bottling your convictions," Cannon says at one point, "and help convince some of my colleagues who are wavering."

"We'll have dinner at the house," Kulongoski says, referring to Mahonia Hall, the Salem mansion reserved for the governor. "Have some of your committee members up. We'll talk about this."

Kulongoski used to be faulted precisely for avoiding this type of mutual back-scratching, especially in his first term.

"He took a hands-off approach in the early years," says Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, who has had some high-profile run-ins with the governor. "His approach was, 'Let the Legislature do its thing, and I'll do mine.'"

That didn't work, Walker says. His first four years were unspectacular enough that he attracted a host of challengers in his 2006 re-election bid.

In his second term, however, Kulongoski plunged in. With help from a strong economy and a Democratic majority, the 2007 legislative session ranks as the governor's best.

"The governor learned from his mistakes and came back very strong," Walker says.