Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle delivered a guest lecture Friday to University of Wisconsin political science students, describing his Democratic positions and duties as governor.

About 90 students in Political Science 205: Introduction to State Government, taught by Prof. Dennis Dresang, listened to Doyle tell about the hardships he faced entering office in January and his vision for the future of the state.

Doyle explained how he had to balance the state’s budget with a $2.3 billion deficit and how he succeeded without raising taxes. He said another challenge he has faced is improving wages for Wisconsin residents.

“Our number one priority is getting the economy growing,” Doyle said. “My vision for Wisconsin is to compete at the high end.”

He added that in order to accomplish this goal there needs to be a quality education system and residents need to “compete with old-fashioned Wisconsin values.”

“I want you to demonstrate to the world that Wisconsin stands for quality,” Doyle told the students.

He concluded his lecture by outlining the role students should take in politics, emphasizing the opportunities available with the upcoming presidential elections and the role Wisconsin will play in the campaigns.

“Bush is really vulnerable,” Doyle said. “This is going to be a real competitive political year . . . and the Wisconsin primary may well be a big focal point on who the Democratic nominee will be. It’s an exciting time to be at UW, in a political sense.”

The governor then held a question-and-answer session, and students took the opportunity to ask tough questions regarding current issues.

The questions addressed Doyle’s opposition to a rise in Madison’s minimum wage and his ideas for campaign-finance reform as well as public education funding and state permit regulations concerning industry expansion.

UW senior Bouskill Xiong said Doyle’s lecture was beneficial in learning about state government.

“It was very interesting,” Xiong said. “I thought it was very helpful.”

UW freshman Heidi Hackbarth agreed that Doyle’s lecture was interesting but said he lacked the “dynamic” of the Republican party representative that spoke on Wednesday.

“I felt [Doyle] was saying more about what he wanted and not so much how he was going to get there,” Hackbarth said.

Doyle visited the political science class every year as Wisconsin’s Attorney General.

“I feel strongly about this university and about education,” Doyle, a UW-Madison graduate, said of his reasons for lecturing the class.

Dresang said he regarded Doyle as a political “miracle worker.” He added that it is important for students to see and hear how their studies relate to the real world.

“I think when you’re teaching a course on state government with the Capitol so close . . . there’s something to be gained by meeting politicians,” Dresang said.

Dresang added that he would also bring in state Supreme Court justices, legislators and other political figures to the class.

“But it is special to have the governor come,” Dresang said.