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I figure many of the McClintock supporters would not vote for anyone else in the election anyway. They have their boy running, and that will draw them to the polls. This will assure that the recall succeeds because they will all support the recall. Arnold will not be hurt, and having McClintock to his right makes him more palatable to the liberal Californians.

Btw, if McClintock were a Democrat and lived on the other side of the country, his name would be Mark Green.

I figure many of the McClintock supporters would not vote for anyone else in the election anyway. They have their boy running, and that will draw them to the polls. This will assure that the recall succeeds because they will all support the recall. Arnold will not be hurt, and having McClintock to his right makes him more palatable to the liberal Californians.

You are not making any sense. Sure, the "YES on recall" will pass, but this is NOT a primary election. The presence of two GOP candidates will split the vote, handing a PLURALITY victory to Bustamante.

This will assure that the recall succeeds because they will all support the recall. Arnold will not be hurt, and having McClintock to his right makes him more palatable to the liberal Californians.

You have the truth of it. I have said that I don't think McClintock hurts Arnold all that much, yeah, there's drain there but it's at the marginal levels and could be considered decisive if the election (between Bustamante and Arnold) were exceedingly close.

I certainly could get close as the Democrats come home, but I think it unlikely to get that close -- unless Arnold stumbles badly on his own (no amount of sleaze stories are going to hurt Arnold with his particular base -- which is the moderate Republican/Independent/Democrat-who-will-tolerate-conservative-fiscal-policy voters sitting smack dab in the middle of the California electorate).

The McClintock voters are only a big deal if the race is razor thin, because Arnold would only ever get a fraction of them that far on the right anyway. If that fraction made a difference...then it would hurt. But I don't think we can say at this point that the race will come down to such fine margins (1 percent or 2 or so). If it looks that way very late, then there would still be time for McClintock to cut a deal in exchange for support. Arnold will only get a modest slice of those votes though, even with an endorsement.

You do understand the basic rules of the election, no? There will be 2 questions: "Do you support the recall?" Right now the polls are saying 50% Yes to 45% No. The next question is: "Pick your replacement." The winner is the one who gets the most votes. It is likely it will not be a majority decision, but a plurality.

Please help me understand your point in saying that two major GOP candidates running for one office does not matter.