[Sabertooth]

Too bad he didn't get out and let Riorden have it.

No, it's too bad Simon won, and has proceeded to try and blur the differences between him and Riordan.

Thus far, the floundering campaign Simon has run is the same shakey-kneed, ashamed of Repubicanism, fret-fest that Riordan would have run, with less money.

That said, I'm not as down in the dumps as you are... comebacks do happen in California, as Pete Wilson showed in 1994. It's early August, and most voters aren't focusing on the campaign yet, and won't for another few weeks. Davis' negatives aren't going to change, there are 45% of the people here who will never vote for him. He needs 10 out 11 of the rest to win.

Was Simon the ideal candidate? No, but neither was Riordan. The RNC advisors need to do better than to keep foisting wimpy, cowardly campaigns on California, like those of Dan Lundgren, Matt Fong, and Tom Campbell.

It's the Republican leadership that needs to learn a lesson.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Be sure and read this one:

Is Gray Davis Looting California Retirement Funds?

[SEGUET]

"It's the Republican leadership that needs to learn a lesson."

The Republican Party in California has never been able to find the cheeks of their A$$ with both hands on a dark noght, if Reagan held the flashlight

[Commie Basher]

the floundering campaign Simon has run is the same shakey-kneed, ashamed of Repubicanism, fret-fest that Riordan would have run,

I dunno about that. I heard a radio commentator, Mr. KABC (a big fan of Riordan and McCain, and a basher of Bush and Davis), praise Riordan as "a self-made millionaire," as opposed to "daddy's rich boy" Simon. I'd not heard that elsewhere, but if true, it seems Riordan could have bucked the "spoiled rich kid" image, unlike Simon.

It's early August, and most voters aren't focusing on the campaign yet, and won't for another few weeks.

Most California voters never focus on elections. In NY, the media are saturated with elections new by early summer. In California, TV news doesn't seem to report on elections ... ever. Compared to New Yorkers, Californians are stunningly unaware of elections.

[LS]

I (sort of) defended Simon in an earlier post, but I'll bash him here: it is RIDICULOUS that he ran KNOWING that he had the income tax problem and the lawsuit. Republicans MUST be squeaky clean to have any hope of getting only slightly hostile press. No reason to give the media "red meat."

[A CA Guy]

We have no real good candidates because the population has an edge that is left. So though we get close, the 9% margin of leftists in California keeps drawing the right seemingly left of middle to get noticed - much less elected.

That is how I see it and I don't like it.