Yes siree, ladies and gentleman, the horse race for governor has begun. The horses are jockeying for position, mud flying, as they hurtle down the straightaway.
There’s Meg Whitman splattered over and over again with her voting record. She’s trying to avoid some more mud as she moves to the outside, hollering that she did so vote … once or twice.
Steve Poizner is moving to the right to get away from a smash-up in the middle of the track. But he can’t duck the glob of donations he made to Al Gore, or was that his stable mate. We can’t quite tell from here, but it seems the mud is sticking.
And, there’s the old war horse, Jerry Brown, biding his time along the rail. Brown still has mud stains splattered on his shirt from forty years of going around the track. And, there appears to be a new stain. Did he actually appear at a fundraiser for a hard core Republican DA in San Bernadino County? Wow! That won’t wash out so easily. Like trying to explain to your wife that lipstick on the collar.
There’s the young colt, Gavin Newsom falling back behind Brown. His colors are also covered with mud. That long stain caused by actions of immigrants protected by his city’s sanctuary status will be tough to get out whether he likes it or not. Maybe the new trainer, that Clinton fella, can offer words of wisdom.
Looks like there’s another entrant. Yes, I can see him now, Tom Campbell. His jersey looks clean from here and he’s talking about issues. What fun is that?
The crowd doesn’t want to hear about issues. I know my listeners. I’ve been reporting at trackside for a long time. It’s about the horse race. Personalities. Things that can easily be understood like voting records and political contributions and memorable catch phrases.
Why talk about hard things to fix like taxes and water? That’s not for governors to decide, anyway. Heck, that’s the job of initiative voters!
Now, as the field goes around the first turn…