Oh, I don't disagree with you. We had a major window of opportunity when it was clear to the voters that Gray Davis was driving the state into bankruptcy and was nothing but a corrupt hack.
Bill Simon could have been elected if the leaders in Washington had supported him, and if Gerald Parsky whom they put in charge of the state party had given him any money. He came very close in spite of a lack of funding that might have allowed him to counter a vicious press and a vindictive judge.
Instead, they used unhappiness with Gray Davis to shoehorn Arnold into the governor's mansion. But there may be some hope if McClintock manages to ride his new position into the governorship next time around, assuming that the state hasn't collapsed before then.
That's too far out to predict what the economic situation will be, and we don't know who will be in the White House, either. But there's at least a little hope if McClintock manages to get his foot in the door.
There is no 'governor's mansion' and he's serving without salary.