Just a quick perusal of the Sunday headlines shows last week was not a great one for the governor.
"Arnold mania fades" -- Sacramento Bee
"Gov. Making a Quiet Retreat" - LA Times
"Governor faces uphill battle with agenda" -- LA Daily News
Meanwhile, the Chron's Carla Marinucci
pulled the curtain on the governor's "kitchen cabinet meetings." Taking a page out of the Bush media playbook, the governor has been stocking the meetings with hand-picked supporters, recommended by the local Chamber of Commerce and the governor's political allies.
"Santa Rosa's carefully chosen crowd included a demographically diverse cross section: three women -- a female police officer, a health care specialist, an educator -- and two men -- a young Asian businessman and a Latino banker. All of them, Schwarzenegger's staff acknowledged, were
recommended by Citizens to Save California, the political arm pushing the governor's reform agenda."
Even those who had good things to say about the governor, like George Skelton, were
comparing his policy initiatives to cancer but, um, in a good way. "Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is like a guy who just underwent major surgery to have a cancer removed: He looks pale and weak, but is a whole lot healthier."
"But Democrats and their patron
public employee unions should temper their celebrating. That's because the impact of Schwarzenegger's retreat on his principal reform agenda — controlling spending and removing redistricting from the Legislature — is likely to be a classic case of one step backward, two forward."
Whatever grief the governor received on Sunday's opinion pages was subtle in comparison to Dan Walters' shot at Speaker
Fabian Nuñez who Walters says is
having a difficult time as the lead spokesman for the Democrats in Sacramento. "As a public spokesman for the Democrats, Núñez is still on a learning curve. He is a
mediocre public speaker who tends toward sloganeering, such as this syntax-free metaphoric melange uttered at a recent press conference touting his transportation program: 'I want to say to you that we think that
what we bring to the table ought not be treated as simply another hiccup in this cloud that is over California's political climate today.'
Say what?"
The Bee rewards
Phil Angelides's early declaration for governor, with an
equally early political profile.
Nation for Congress? In Official Trial Balloon news, Matier and Ross report the Marin Assemblyman is looking at taking on fellow Democrat
Lynn Woolsey. ""I'm going to take a very close look at it,
even if it means challenging Lynn,'' Nation said. "And I'm going to be making up my mind pretty quickly."
Woolsey's response: "I know he's term-limited, and I'm sure he's looking for something else to do. But he would be running against me and my record of accomplishments."
Just when you thought you wouldn't have to debate end-of-life issues for awhile, the LA Times
previews tomorrow's Assembly Judiciary hearing of a bill to allow physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients,
AB 654.
In "Shooting the Messenger" News, a toll taker on the Bay Bridge is recovering after being
shot and robbed while collecting tolls from San Francisco-bound drivers. A suspect,
Marcellus Cooksey, is in custody. "Cooksey was in the No. 7 lane about 9:30 p.m. when he stepped out of a stolen car in the toll plaza and appeared to argue with the victim, according to police and bridge spokeswoman
Mary Currie. Then he allegedly shot the woman twice and ran. A bridge security officer chased the suspect and shot him in the leg. Cooksey and the toll collector were taken to San Francisco General Hospital."
Meanwhile, Sens.
Don Perata and
Tom Torlakson have put their Bay Bridge proposal forward, which includes a state bond and a $1 bridge toll hike.
The Sacramento Bee
writes up Jackie Goldberg's third attempt to ban the use of certain mascot names by public schools. The
bill now just bans the name "Redskins."LA Mayor's Race In "Think Globally, Act Globally" News, The LA Times has some sobering news for
Jim Hahn and
Antonio Villaraigosa: You're no
John Kerry. Or at least,
not in Hollywood's eyes. "When Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry came to Los Angeles last summer,
Ben Stiller, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Harvey Weinstein, Billy Crystal and
Barbra Streisand attended a lavish gala at Disney Hall that netted $5 million. In the race for Los Angeles mayor, only Streisand has contributed: the maximum $1,000 to Mayor
James K. Hahn.Cheerleading Update! We warned you about about the Texas lawmaker that wants to
crack down on sexy cheerleading in Friday's Roundup. Apparently, just as we had feared,
the trend is moving West, as
San Jose State has suspended their dance team over a dance that drew complaints from a wealthy alumnus. "It was vulgar,'' said Ray Silva, 74, a San Jose businessman and well-connected university booster who has been instrumental in helping raise money for athletics. ``It was like a burlesque, with bumps and grinds. I just came unglued.''
Can state intervention be far behind?
