With the Gubernatorial debate now a part of history (in case you missed it, my take is here). Phil Angelides, down by double-digits in every public opinion poll that has been published, desperately needed to have something, anything happen in this one and only debate that would change the horrible position in which Angelides finds himself.

For the last few months, Phil Angelides has been flailing as a candidate, failing to gain any momentum or traction. Angelides has been unable to convince many core Democrat voters that he is capable of running the complex government apparatus of this large state. At the same time, Governor Schwarzenegger has been on top of his game, coming across as capable and effective.

The Governor has been appealing to his core Republican base with his emphasis on his pledge to oppose any new taxes or fees, and he has been appealing to many Democrats and centrist voters by making a big deal out of… Read More

Here’s a little advice forRepublican candidates seeking their Party’s endorsement and assistance in San Bernardino County elections: You can’t have it both ways. If you think political parties shouldn’t be involved in local or so-called ‘non-partisan’ elections, then don’t ask for their support only to later criticize their involvement if they endorse someone else. By doing so you run the risk of seeming disingenuous.

Consider Sunday’sSan Bernardino County Sun article by staff writer George Watson that profiles judicial candidate Larry Roberts, who placed second to GOP-backed Steve Malone in the June Primary (30.6% vs. Malone’s 44.8%). In it, Roberts explains how the GOP’s involvement in the election gives him “chills” because of its potential to frighten jurists from making the right decisions for fear of Party retribution. Read it here.

But when Malone points out that Roberts had also sought the party’s support, Watson’s report paraphrases Roberts as saying he… Read More

There’s a lot of great stories to read on the main page today, but one is the ‘don’t miss’ story of the day — as it goes to the heart of a significant issue: Distraught Republicans Lambasting One Another.

Because of out-of-control spending in Washington, D.C., by a Republican President and a Republican Congress, the GOP can’t really credibly hold the mandle of being a party of limited government, can it? The fire and drive of the Class of ’94 is gone. Republicans inside the Beltway have to rely on the War on Terror to bump ratings because they cannot run on a record of having reined in the size and scope of the federal government. On the contrary, as the Chairman of the libertarian CATO institute says in the Chronicle piece, "The growth of federal spending has been the highest since Lyndon Johnson."

Republicans may be divided over the war in Iraq, civil liberties, immigration, and the… Read More

While the main page is filled with coverage of yesterday’s debate between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tax Man Phil Angelides hosted by the California Broadcasters Association, there were only three written about another important debate that took place. The reason so few column inches were expended to cover this debate seems simple: if only a thousand people were watching or listening the one-hour gubernatorial debate at Sac State, were even a hundred people tuned in to the half-hour debate between State Senator Tom McClintock and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi at the Radisson Hotel? Even with all the press releases and emails I receive from campaigns and all the newspaper stories I… Read More

While the main page is filled with coverage of yesterday’s debate between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tax Man Phil Angelides hosted by the California Broadcasters Association, there were only three written about another important debate that took place. The reason so few column inches were expended to cover this debate seems simple: if only a thousand people were watching or listening the one-hour gubernatorial debate at Sac State, were even a hundred people tuned in to the half-hour debate between State Senator Tom McClintock and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi at the Radisson Hotel? Even with all the press releases and emails I receive from campaigns and all the newspaper stories I… Read More

Ayn Rand a Housewife?… Thanks to Leslie Carbone for sending this along, as it seems TV producer Marc Cherry is coming out of the closet, perhaps "objectively."

In the season premier of Desperate Housewives, the Orson character makes a little, oddly timed, "I’m a libertarian; I believe in limiting the power of the state and expanding the power of the individual" (paraphrase) speech. Then, at the end of the episode, as the camera pans across a golf club that’s under development, a sign is shown announcing the name of the club’s architectural firm: Howard Roark, Inc.

Funny.Call it subliminal TV messaging if you will, but Cherry’s claim to be a "somewhat conservative, gay Republican" seems to pit any of… Read More

Towards the end of the debate, the Governor asks Phil Angelides why he won’t appear in a joint television commercial to push the big bond package on the November ballot. Good question. That borrowing package is the best thing that could ever happen to Democrats in the Golden State. If it passes, it will allow the legislature to ‘pass the buck’ on using the state’s ample general fund dollars for real infrastructure (other than bond interest payments) and instead let the liberals continue to spend what is now well over $100 billion annually on their social engineering programs. Californian’s should reject the big bonds borrowing, and force fiscal responsibility in Sacramento. As to why Angelides doesn’t want to appear on TV with Arnold — after this debate, Angelides knows for sure that the LAST PLACE he wants to be is on camera next to the Governor.… Read More

Governor Schwarzenegger summed up the entire one-hour debate against Phil Angelides with that line. Except I doubt Ted Kennedy would have the annoying and undignified habit of making snide, quiet remarks to himself while the host was talking.

Angelides, of course, took the Governor’s comparison as a compliment.

UPDATE: I’m either average or have the pulse of the average person according to Barbara O’Connor, a political scientist at Sac State. In a San Jose Mercury News article, O’Connor said, "The average person won’t pay attention to [the] details. They’ll remember Schwarzenegger’s Uncle Teddy line and Angelides talking about his daughters.”… Read More