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And, in that circumstance I'd be far more willing to suggest that Arnie drop out to leave the field to McClintock.

No thank you. One experience with a Bill Simon-type defeat is quite enough for me. It's either McClintock drops out, or I will pray that the recall vote fails and leaves Gray Davis. Your guy is a proven loser, despite liberal-media-pumped "polls". If he stays in, Bustamante will be the next Governor.

I see you evaded my point about how this is NOT a primary. Do you people realize that less than 4 weeks now remain until the GENERAL election, and there are TWO GOP candidates? T.R. took on Taft and we got Woodrow Wilson, the philisophical predecessor to Neville Chamberlain and Jimmy Carter.

Now McClintock takes on Arnold and we will get Bustamante, the precursor to Aztlan--racial choas and destruction in America.

I don't dispute your history lesson.
I don't dispute that the media has a stake in keeping two GOP candidates at fairly even odds.
And, yes, I know this is not a primary.
I know it is a choice between pragmatic and not so pragmatic.
And I know that "republican" in california is not the same as "republican" in Georgia.

I do dispute your claim that McClintock is a looser since he would be the way out forerunner had Arnold not stepped in.
That, in turn, forces me to question just which candidate is the spoiler: the actual republican or the california-lite version with public appeal outside of the party?

Your position presumes as absolute fact that california will slide from one democrat to the next and that casinos, unions, and the expanding latino base will successfully underwrite that end. Unless, of course, Conan rides to the rescue.
I don't even deny that, I also think that's a huge possibility; what are the odds that enough non-GOP voters are so sickened by what's come to pass that they'd vote for the more conservative candidate?

Even more uncertain are the results of a Schwarzenegger victory.

He seems a decent guy. I unabashedly admire his success and the fact that he came here as a sort of curiosity and adopted, adapted, and literally conquered.
But I only know that he will hire 'good help' and take their advice. That and the accepted fact that he is NOT in any way a conservative are all I have to go on.

There are many who would remind me that the above two traits can be used to describe GWB, or were so used during the campaigns. Problem is that Bush had years of close association with government processes while Arnie has a wife who's family has years of close association with government.....
Not the same.

If Bustamente wins - the rest of this administration will only continue to get worse.
If Arnie wins - we don't have the foggiest idea what will happen but a lot of folks either HOPE it'll work or only want to see an "R" on the score board.
If McClintock wins - he may or may not be able to drive a turn around, start one, or be totally stonewalled by the rest of the democrat dominated government. But we at least have some assurance that his compromises would be closer to center than not.

If Bustamente wins and does poorly, we'll have an us versus them mob scene next general election.
If he does well, it's business as usual for a long time because NO one in this state would vote out a Latino unless the reasons were iron solid.
If Arnie does poorly, california will automatically revert farther to the left.
If he does well, we'll have him for a long long time; maybe good, maybe bad.
If McClintock does badly, see above.
If he does well, maybe the electorate will get the message.

I think it used to be called Hobson's Choice....neither alternative is so very attractive. You have to go with the one that seems least worse at the time you make the choice.
Perhaps that is why so many posting on this subject in a GOP dominated forum have such vividly emotional arguments; though, for my part, I can't get real emotional about pragmatic choices unless you count depression.

That gets to the original point. I was ready to pitch in and vote for the not-a-republican-anywhere-but-here guy. All the fire and brimstone reminds me too much of the demo talking heads on TV; always shouting over the other guy's talking points instead of addressing their merit.

So now I'm back on the fence and will remain there until the polls open.