Californians following the governor’s race through the media think the choice is between one candidate who doesn’t read her mail and another who doesn’t know how to hang up the telephone.
If the candidates have generated no more light than that on who they are and what they will do once in office, whose fault is that?
Is it the media who revel in covering controversy? Is it the candidates who prefer to argue about these matters rather than the complexities of modern-day California government? Or is it the voters who would want to make their choices on character issues rather than trying to decide which candidate is right or wrong on policy?
Of course, it is a combination of all three.
One problem is that when the candidates offer little to discuss about the complexities of governance, the easy-to-understand issues rise to the surface and the candidates had little to offer over the budget.
Once again we have a budget on paper — or looking at it another way, a papered-over budget. No real solutions, but as I wrote last week, a logical conclusion to a 100-day late budget with few options.
The budget bottom line: Let the next governor and legislature deal with this mess.
What’s odd is we heard little from the leading candidates who want to be governor on what to do with the budget problem. Their spokespeople had vague comments about the budget when it passed but offered no solutions. However, predictions are the new governor will be facing a double-digit billion-dollar budget deficit when he or she moves into the corner office.
So, we end up with charges over inappropriate language on one side or when the truth was known about an illegal immigrant housekeeper who submitted false paperwork on the other.
With the final debate in the governor’s race scheduled for tomorrow night, it will be interesting to see if the back-and-forth is over policy or scandal.