The governor
launched his campaign to rebuild California--and his image--in last night's state of the state address. Robert Salladay reports for the Times "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday launched a super-sized plan to rebuild the very foundations of California —
a $222-billion construction project to fortify freeways, schools, jails, ports and waterways."
"'In the 23-minute address to lawmakers, which was as much about rebuilding his own image as it was about repairing California, Schwarzenegger paid homage to past governors who 'built the foundations of California's prosperity.'"
"'They built California with steel, concrete, hard work and vision,' he told legislators gathered in the Assembly chamber. 'We must do all that and more.'"
The speech began with the governor taking a big gulp of humble pie, as he acknowledged the mistakes he made last year.
"I've thought a lot about the last year -- the mistakes I made, the lessons I learned. What I feel good about is that I led from my heart. It's true I was in too much of a hurry. I didn't hear the majority of Californians when they were telling me they didn't like the special election.
I barreled ahead anyway when I should have listened."
"I have absorbed my defeat. I have learned my lesson. And the people, who always have the last word, sent a clear message -- cut the warfare, cool the rhetoric, find common ground and fix the problems together.
To my fellow Californians, I say -- message received."
Capitol Weekly has the
full text.
Gary Delsohn writes in the Bee "Voters would be asked to jump-start the Republican governor's proposal, which includes a variety of new fees for millions of California families and businesses, by approving
$25.2 billion worth of general obligation bonds in the June statewide election."
"If the Democrat-controlled Legislature approves Schwarzenegger's plan, a far from certain prospect, voters would be asked to pass
another $10.2 billion in general obligation bonds in 2008 and $18.9 billion in 2010."
The plan would also need some Republican suppport to find its way to the ballot, since a 2/3 vote is needed to place bond measures before voters.
Capitol Weekly has a roundup of
responses to the governor's speech.
Shockingly, Phil and Steve are looking for more details...
Phil Angelides: "It sounds like George W. Bush to me: spend spend spend, borrow borrow borrow. There are some major problems. He hasn't said how he would pay for it."
Steve Westly: "I stood with him two years ago when he said he was going to cut up the credit cards. I think he has just applied for a bunch of new ones. The governor is going to have to explain."
Also among the unimpressed were the
editorial writers at the Orange County Register. "The governor's proposals were so voluminous that they must have made former Gov. Gray Davis wonder why he was recalled for fiscal imprudence."
Carla Marinucci
gets the quote of the day from former governor Gray Davis, who was seen lurking around the media tent after the speech. "'This is like in the Army -- left, right, left,' Davis shrugged."
"'The voters genuinely like him,' said Barbara O'Connor, professor of political communication at CSU Sacramento. 'They may disagree with him, but they're intrigued by him. ... He gets their attention.'"
"And when the governor is offering up programs on issues they care about the voters 'may be willing to end their anger and re-evaluate,' she said."
Dan Walters thinks the governor
may be setting himself up for a pitfall. "Having reaped what he sowed - a steep plunge in public esteem and massive rejection of his "year of reform" ballot measures - one might think that Schwarzenegger would approach the governorship more realistically. But he did it again Thursday, pinning his re-election hopes on a grandiose, $222 billion program of public works improvements, and
thus digging a pitfall that could be the final resting place of his political career."
"It's more than likely that Democratic legislators and their myriad interest groups - labor unions, personal injury attorneys, etc. - will seize on the infrastructure package as leverage, demanding that Schwarzenegger give ground on such issues as an increase in the minimum wage, modification of his much-vaunted workers' compensation reforms, or perhaps driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, and adopt softer administrative attitudes on such issues as new contracts for state worker unions."
The LAT's Michael Finnegan writes that the governor's move to the center will
make it more difficult for Phil Angelides and Steve Westly to gain traction with the voters. "By neutralizing some key issues, his political shift also heightens the likelihood of a gubernatorial race defined as much by disputes about character as by partisan divisions, analysts say.
A central question is apt to be whether Schwarzenegger is motivated more by core beliefs or a quest for personal success."