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This lady is making a strong point. The GOP needs to wake up about California. They don't have to run tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum to win there - they just need a strong candidate. I don't think she's right when she contends that President Bush has written the state off. As for Wilson, I don't know, but he has won a lot of elections and the GOP has to recognise that their natural base is the white vote, and, for the GOP, this generally means running the white male. It ain't modernistic and it ain't cool, but it's the winning strategy.

What we need to remember that Republicans have generally faired very poorly when they've run minority or even female candidates for high positions. John Sanchez made a fine 'inclusive Republican' poster boy in the New Mexico gubernatorial race in 2002, but he didn't even make the race close for the GOP as whites ended up seeing Bill Richardson (who is only half-Latino from him mother) as the more white candidate of the two. In 1998, the last Republican to run against the diabolical Boxer was Asian-American Matt Fong. But Fong failed to rally even his native Asian vote for the GOP, and, of course, whites weren't enthused by the GOP strategy, either. Not surprisingly, Fong lost big, in a race that should have been a GOP pickup. I hold it against the CA GOP to a certain degree, because we're stuck with this disgraceful woman fomenting her political puke all over us all the time.

If you asked me, minorities are becoming less attracted to the ethnic draw card from candidates of their own race - and this is so even for the Democrats. Tony Sanchez and Ron Kirk thought that being Hispanic and black would fuel unprecedented turnout rates from Texan minorities, but it failed abysmally. George Pataki defeated African-American Carl McCall in a hands-down victory in New York. Sure, I know that there was a divisive primary, but that's not the only reason. And who were the ideal candidates to win Senate races in Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Minnesota and even New Hampshire (Sununu is Arab-American, but it's hard to tell the difference). Just think of how many women and minorities were key to the GOP victories of 2002. You'll realise the key to victory for the GOP lies with the white male. Even the lacklustre Bill Simon brought Gray Davis to his knees, although he fell short of victory.

We've tried the minority trick against Boxer and have failed. Let's give her a good dose of her medicine and run a strong white male candidate - be it Pete Wilson or someone else. I think she's very vulnerable - even in California.