"'Round the Bend" - Commentary by Tony Seton

‘Round the Bend

And they’re coming around the final turn, heading for home. Neigh, you say, or maybe nay. At least here in California, where the recall election is a week away and most people aren’t terribly pleased with their choices. Choice one is to dump Gray Davis, and while most Californians would answer "yes" in a flash, many are sighing and saying, But what about who would succeed him. Succeed as in follow, not as in success, and that’s the crux of it.

If the recall is approved, and current polling says it will be, the three leading candidate to replace his Eminence Gris are his lieutenant Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat whose main pitch is his ethnicity; Arnold Schwarzenegger, a rich actor who has spent $500,000 a month on campaign consultants; and Tom McClintock, a state senator who would likely feel more at home in an earlier century, before women had equal rights and men all carried guns.

A CNN poll over the weekend says 63% will vote to oust the incumbent, with the actor beating the governor-lite by a 40%-25% margin, and the conservative Republican polling 18%. These numbers are at odds with earlier polling, but with the chaos of this special election, they could be accurate.

My inclination is to vote against the recall. Though I share the disgust with Gray Davis, I don’t like the fact that a coupla million bucks bought the signatures necessary for the recall. Ostensibly the recall was mounted against Davis’ mishandling of the energy and budget crises, which was atrocious but not illegal, probably mostly.

What truly bordered on illegal was Davis’ shake down of casino injuns, labor unions and big business to the tune of a hunnert million bucks in campaign funds, when he should have been handling the affairs of state. He probably mostly acted within the law, but that’s only because the laws against such behavior were written so poorly, which is why the people of The Golden State are so hostile toward Davis, whose approval rating is down to about 22%. And who knows why it is even that high.

"Davis is lucky: there are no replacement candidates worth a recommendation," said the San Jose Mercury-News. That won’t be enough luck, if the poll numbers are right. The Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee agreed with the Merc in calling for a no vote and making no recommendation for a replacement. The Oakland Tribune also urged a "no" vote, but endorsed Schwarzenegger, while the San Diego Union-Tribune said "yes" to the recall and to the GOP muscleman.

However the race turns out, Californians are a-fearin’ that they will be looking at the back end of the winning horse.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.