Category: Hot Off The Presses
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
The polls have closed in California, and if you believe exit polling it looks like the recall has succeeded and Arnold Schwarzenegger has won with a wide margin over Cruz Bustamante and the other one hundred and thirty-three candidates.
To all you good people in California, all I can say is: now that the circus has left town and the hard work of putting your house back in order lies ahead, good luck! I have a bad feeling you're gonna need it.
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Yes, the people of Cali do need luck, lots of it.
They need it because their former governor raised spending faster than their economy was growing through the internet boom years, and then refused to throttle it back to realistic levels when the internet tide went out. They need it because their former governor was inclined to make things happen rapidly for people who put up 7-figure donations, and left others to take care of themselves.
I disagree with Arnold on so many things - I'm not even going to try to list the highlights - but the one thing he is not is a career politician. He has essentially no old debts to the political establishment. His method of achieving office, and the wide margins by which he did it, will give him crucial political capital to force real change in Sacramento. And I think his extraordinary track record as a businessman gives him both credibility and understanding, and suggests that there is hope for his tenure as Governor.
Will those changes be the best ones, or good ones? I don't know. He's talked a good game on fiscal policy, and frankly that's the most important issue in Cali now. So let's see what the man can do.