Posted on 03/20/2002 6:28:08 AM PST by ElkGroveDan
The governor who says he "kept the lights on" raises doubts about those in his own head.
"After three years in office and an easy primary win, Gov. Gray Davis faces a strange problem: More California voters than ever actively dislike him," reports the Los Angeles Times.
Can anyone blame them? Davis is doing an awfully good impression of Al Gore these days. Consider Davis's recent oddball interview with the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Before the board, the nerdy braggart fumed about California's energy crisis last year: "If I didn't panic, you wouldn't be able to put out your paper. I saved this friggin' paper. I kept the lights on in this state. Do you understand that? I kept the lights on."
Davis added modestly that he thinks he deserves a "round of applause" for his management of the crisis. Those who have noted his dithering and fumbling don't "know squat," he said.
Davis displayed a level of defensiveness in the interview that would make a paranoiac proud. Referring to the criticism of his bungling of the crisis, he declared: "This is like a war. This is worse than being in Vietnam. This is a full-out war against me."
"I saved this friggin' paper," "Worse than being in Vietnam," - such delusional rantings suggest Davis is losing his political grip.
Perhaps Simon's best response to a lunging pol like Davis is simply to step back and let him stumble to the ground on his own.
Californians are smart enough to see past Davis's self-serving analysis of the electricity crisis. Many will recall that Davis did not keep the "lights on," but turned them off. Remember the Davis-decreed "rolling blackouts" - one of the more insane public policies in the annals of California governance?
Cars piled up and dialysis machines went dead as Davis randomly pulled the plug on the state's electricity. The Los Angeles Times featured a front page photo of children trapped in an elevator.
Davis calls this "crisis management"; Californians recall it as the panicking of a Jimmy Carter-style loser.
It appears that many Democrats apparently agree. The Times reports that "almost a third of Democratic respondents to a Times poll said they looked upon Davis unfavorably, as did almost two in five independents. Of those who said they disliked Davis, 42 percent cited the power crunch as the No. 1 reason, criticizing his approach and his results." "'He ignored everything for a year, then he did everything in secret,' said Dvorah Colker, a Los Angeles Democrat who voted for Davis in 1998 but said she will not do so again."
According to the Times, "roughly the same number of voters disapprove of Davis' job performance as approve - 47 percent in each case, anemic numbers for an incumbent."
The Simon campaign is just warming up and the Al Gore of California already runs scared.
IS NOT LEADERSHIP!!
is what prevents the need
for crisis management.
I just spent 10 minutes searching and can't find the article. Grrrrr. It goes like this: There is/was a corruption prosecution over bribery type activity with the coastal commission--$$$ for development approval. In litigation by the Sac Bee to unseal the files a "Doe" attorney filed an action on behalf of a "Doe" plaintiff to keep them sealed. Walters, I believe, wrote about it and Grayout looks to be the one.
Can anyone else out there help?
BINGO!
Davis seems unaware of this...
Incapable?
SIMON, THE SANE CHOICE
Wow, a tad touchy and defensive, dontcha think?
There is so much on Davis, we need more specifics.
Try going to yahoo.com and doing a search on the writer if you can remember his name! Sometimes yahoo can access articles that the newspaper won't let you go to.
Incapable?
I seem to recall Davis' being quoted to the effect that of course he could have prevented the crisis by letting prices rise. So what you have out there is a classic example of a man who has to be a hero, and risks becoming a goat in order to do so. It didn't work out . . .
Californians can hope that in Simon they have someone who doesn't need to be a hero, and won't make better the enemy of good enough.
He is, and he won the Bronze Star there. But I wonder if he isn't suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, since this kind of bizarre behavior was also documented during his 1998 campaign.
Bill Simon doesn't like negative campaigning. He is a stealth candidate, one who will likely win in November without having run a single negative ad.
Goldie: you know Mr. Simon? Do tell!! Enquiring minds etc! I get the *feeling* the man is truly a great leader!
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