[TheAngryClam]

Let's see...

- Failure to push the issues that resonated with California voters, such as the power crisis.

- Made an embarassment out of himself by charging that he had proof of Davis illegally raising funds when even a cursory investigation would have disproved them.

- Failed to settle a lawsuit against his company for fraud when running. I don't care about the merits, you never, ever let something like that go through.

- Waffling on issues and selling out conservatives, then trying to pass the blame when called on it (Log Cabin survey, among others)

- refusing to commit as much money as he personally said he would, leading to Davis burying the campaign with advertising.

- Refusing to release his tax returns, making it look like he had something to hide, then, after being beat on in the media for weeks, finally doing so, where it turns out that there was nothing to hide.

And that's just for starters. Bottom line: he was a terrible candidate.

[Cicero]

Simon was doublecrossed by Gerald Parsky and his Country Clubbers, undermined by Karl Rove, demonized by the liberal press, and accused of corruption in a ridiculous lawsuit kept alive by a corrupt judge. Yet he still came close to beating Davis. He would have beat him if the press had been remotely honest or if Parsky had followed through on his pledge to be a good fundraiser for the party.

[exDemMom]

Failed to settle a lawsuit against his company for fraud when running.

So, of course, any DemonRAT wanting to take out an opponent has but to file a lawsuit, or pay someone to file a lawsuit, within a few weeks of the election. This way, there is not enough time for the opposing candidate to settle the suit, but plenty of time for the news media to pick it up and run front page headlines. By the time the suit is dismissed (as the suit against Simon was), the DemonRAT has won the election.

Fiendishly clever.

[Dr. Frank fan]

Half the things you mention do seem to be mistakes (though not exactly the egregious errors you make them out to be - "failure to spend as much money as he said he would"? the horror!), which if committed by some other candidate in a state with a reasonably fair media would be no big deal. (Yes Simon accused Davis of hi-jinx, but Davis did the exact same to Simon! And guess which was reported with more indignation.)

The other half are things which are ultimately beyond his control or due to a biased media. Did he really "fail to push" the power crisis or did the media just not pay attention to his "pushing", or even try to defuse it and rush to Gray's defense? If half of Californians are so partisan Dem that they're gonna pull the lever for Gray no matter what, then what good is "pushing the power crisis"?

I guess I just have a hard time blaming Simon for the fact that a large proportion of Californians are knee-jerk partisan Democrats. That's not his fault. He didn't win because a large number of voters don't want a Republican governor under any circumstances. If that makes him a "bad candidate" then the only "good" Republican governor candidates in California will have to be Democrats. Maybe Jerry Brown could run? :-)