The commercials I've seen for Phil Angelides, the Democratic candidate for governor, have fallen into two categories. One group tells us that he's a great guy who'll work hard for his state. In other words, they look exactly like every candidate's commercials and at the end, you have no idea what's different about this guy. The other group of ads tell us that his opponent, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a big fan and supporter of George W. Bush, a man only slightly more popular in California than spinach that carries the E. Coli bacteria.
That makes some sense until you stop and think. Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that I'm a Californian with a very low opinion of Bush. Yes, I know it's a stretch but just pretend. Let's say I think Bush is botching up the War on Terror, getting troops killed in Iraq without a solid strategy for success, and at the same time increasing the risk of terrorism by making the world hate us.
Okay…so how is my vote for the governor of California going to change any of that?
I could understand if Angelides was running for the House or the Senate…but governor? What's the governor of California going to do that's going to arrest anything I think Bush is doing wrong? I'm sure there are few small gestures but nothing that really matters. For governor, I want a guy who's going to solve the problems of the state I live in: Energy, budget, pollution, housing, jobs, etc. Angelides seems to have some ideas in those areas and some of them sound pretty good. But his campaign has become all about how we should vote for him because Arnold likes (or liked) Bush. That, plus the fact that Schwarzenegger has pulled a Clinton and beaten the opposition party at enacting some of their agenda, is why Angelides is running 12-17% behind the incumbent in the latest polls. I think this one's over.