It's like there's two Mufi Hannemanns: the no-holds-barred scrapper who takes offense at the slightest snub, and the polished statesman who can gracefully speak in the round, somehow strike a balance between crooning an Elvis song and talk of severe budget cuts, and who can believably talk of hope in these tough times.

Maybe he's one way when he's running for office and another when he's doing the job. At any rate, his State of the City address yesterday was masterful.

Yes, he started out by singing. Maybe he does it to warm up. And yes, it was a song recorded by both Elvis Presley and Engelbert Humperdinck. Some of the lyrics were reworked to reflect the occasion:

Welcome to my world

Thanks for dropping in

Speeches just like this

Happen once a year ...

A lesser public speaker couldn't go from that high school assembly action to talk of sewers, rail transit and the Natatorium, but Hannemann somehow made it work, speaking from a platform in the middle of the city's Mission Memorial Auditorium surrounded by clear teleprompter screens he didn't seem to need much. He worked the audience, pointing out department heads by name and making deferential mention to Senators Inouye and Akaka, who were in attendance. (And no, Lingle wasn't there, in case anyone was wondering.)

The speech contained actual news and ideas, not a rehash of self-congratulatory accomplishments. Hannemann talked frankly and without much defensiveness about the troubles with TheBoat, saying that if the numbers don't justify the program's continuation, it should come to an end. He also talked about combining the fire department with emergency services to save money; and working with, or if need be, beefing with the EPA over wastewater regulations the city feels are outdated. He even brought up the tangled mess of the Natatorium, saying that after all these years, maybe it needs to be moved.

Hannemann saved a coup de grace for the end, saying his Cabinet members have offered to work without pay one day a month in recognition of the fiscal situation.

What Hannemann did that was remarkable was give an image for how to get through the economic storm. Instead of saying, "Wow, folks, it's bad and it's gonna get worse and everybody has to bleed a little," he turned the idea on its head with the "stone soup" metaphor, referencing a fable about villagers who come together to add what they can to a collective pot. Rather than emphasize shared suffering, he talked about how everybody can contribute and thus everybody can benefit. The effect was one of giving hope and direction. And he didn't even sing that part.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.