“California did the impossible,” said Gov. Jerry Brown in his recent State of the State address. He was referring to a surge of revenue, stemming from a tax hike and modest economic growth, which enabled the state to avoid harsh new rounds of budget cuts. “Two years ago, they were writing our obituary,” he concluded. […]

Former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger titled his autobiography Total Recall, but students of state government will be disappointed in its less-than-total coverage of California politics and policy.  Though he gives lavish attention to bodybuilding and moviemaking, he fails to mention some significant figures on the California political landscape.  Here are some names totally missing from the […]

Many people think that a presidential candidate must choose a running mate who provides the ticket with geographic, demographic, or ideological “balance.” During the past academic year, my student Jake Petzold wrote a terrific senior thesis debunking this notion. Since the days of FDR, he explained, the only time that balance played a decisive role […]