Angry At Politics

this is fantastic. Evidently, we now have phone transcripts proving that Enron traders were both aware and proud of the way they rigged energy costs on the West Coast and robbed the state of California blind. The fiscal crisis that this fed into was a large part of the reason for Gray Davis' defeat at the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger. That, and the fact that the most interesting part of Gray Davis' personality is his first name.

But what goes around comes around. Schwarzenegger has secured his post as most popular governor in the nation by governing like a Democrat. Given that California is over 50% non-white, perhaps that's not a surprise. The Governator (I do love that nickname, as well as all the jokes about GW Bush thinking it was the name of the position, but I digress). The Governator has achieved popularity as a politician through fiscal prudence, of all things. Combining a bond issue with a rather progressive $1 billion income tax increase has bought California some time and some stability. And while many traditional Conservatives gnash their teeth over President Bush's yawning deficits and consider staying home this November, Democrats quietly note the power of fiscal prudence and secretly chortle over how easy it was to co-opt this once-Republican issue.

But what must gall Republicans the most was Governor Arnold's announcement that, though he supports the president and will campaign for him in California (a lost cause for Republicans even despite Arnold's popularity) he will not campaign outside of the state for President Bush. In an interview with California Journal magazine, Arnold was quoted as as saying "But I do not go around the country or anything like that, because there's too many Democrats here. I don't want to rub that in their face. I want them and me to be a partner, to work together."

That'll do for now, check back later for some thoughts on President Bush's church-centered re-election strategy.