Rhode Islanders made a mistake when they decided, starting with the 1994 elections, to switch to four-year terms for governor.

I liked the idea that someone who fell down on the job could be booted out after two years. At least he or she would be more answerable to the people, and voters could pass judgment.

Rhode Island today is reeling. Governor Carcieri’s handling of the immigration issue and his stewardship of the economy are dismaying. The Republican businessman promised efficient, open government and dramatic job development. Instead, we get insensitive government and mounting unemployment.

If I were Carcieri, barely reelected in 2006, I would hate to have to face voters this fall. The state’s unemployment rate is at 7.5 percent, two points above the national average, and Rhode Island is the only New England state that economists say is officially in recession. The Providence Journal’s Lynn Arditi quotes URI business administration Prof. Edward Mazze as saying, “We have no new industries coming in. We’re asleep at the wheel in creating jobs in this state.”

Mazze was an adviser to Democrat Charles Fogarty in his 2006 bid against Carcieri.

Meanwhile, as I followed the news of the July 15 arrests of 31 suspected illegal immigrants at six courthouses and of the contracts that two janitorial companies have with a host of state agencies, several things jolted me.

I note that the sweep by federal agents and the state police took place as Carcieri convened a meeting of a committee he formed to advise him of “unintended consequences” of his famous crackdown on the undocumented.

It was incredible that Carcieri, who’d received a heads-up that there would be a sweep, did not reschedule the meeting or at least notify those in attendance of what was unfolding at the courthouses. It was, if nothing else, a huge public relations setback.

By the way, while I don’t urge people to come here illegally, why would the federal or state governments focus so much energy on these particular folks from Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil and Mexico? Are they thought to be operating a major drug cartel or murder-for-hire ring? As best I can tell, they want to improve the lives of their families and are willing to clean toilets and sweep floors to do it.

You may be applauding Carcieri. Indeed, his immigration views might be superficially popular, perhaps a distraction from a dismal showing on the economy.

Still, he did not seem last week to be comfortable in his own skin. As the storm swirled regarding the raid and relations between the state and the janitorial firms, the governor kept a low profile — no flashy news conferences, for example. Some taxpayers who admire him on immigration must have been disappointed and puzzled by the possibility that so many illegal immigrants could be working in so many state agencies, some right under his nose.

On immigration, the economy and other matters, the performance of Carcieri & Co. increasingly looks to be lurching and ineffective. Yesterday’s paper saw another story about the administration’s failure — for six months now — to provide a written plan as to how Carcieri proposes to save $67 million by transforming the state’s health-care system for the aged, poor and disabled. Everyone hopes the plan eventually will improve services. But, for now, the picture conveyed is one of more administration drift.

If it’s not that topic, it’s something else. I’m tempted to wonder how much longer this kind of thing can go on. But I know: Two and a half years.

M. Charles Bakst is The Journal’s political columnist.

mbakst@projo.com