Governor Steve Beshear says he's glad to have Barack Obama and his staff taking over things in Washington.

The first-term governor tells WBKO with Obama at the helm, things are looking up for this country... and for Kentucky.

But first they have to get down to business.

In the weeks since Obama's election as President of the United States, Beshear has not talked directly with the new leader, but has had discussion with the heads of Obama's transition team.

"We talked about opening the lines of communication because President-Elect Obama and his team are very interested in hearing what governors around the country need, what we think," states Beshear.

One thing Beshear says he plans to bring up to Obama once they do speak is pushing Kentucky to the top of the list when it comes to creating new types of energy.

"Kentucky is in a unique position to become a leader in energy production, both with our coal in eastern and western Kentucky and with our strong agriculture industry," Beshear notes.

Another issue Beshear would like to see addressed for the Commonwealth is helping out our auto industry in the midst of the current financial turmoil.

"We are the the 3rd largest car producer in this country behind only Michigan and Ohio, so we've got 80 or 85 thousand jobs that depend on the automobile industry," Beshear explains.

The Dawson Springs native says he will push Obama and his administration to get relief for the auto industry as well as steps to aid Kentucky's medicare and unemployment rates.

Even though the Governor has yet to formally talk to President number 44, he expects to work very close to him in the coming years.

"He is very interested in getting on top of these economic issues that this country is facing and governors are going to play a big role in helping solve those problems and we look forward to communicating with him about the things we need," according to Beshear.

The Governor's Association is trying to arrange a meeting between President-Elect Obama and governors from all over the United States next month.