Schwarzenegger's main weakness was his lack of fiscal policy experience; now that Warren Buffett has his back, I doubt that will be a problem. If I were voting I would do exactly what the Democratic Party of California says--"no to the recall, yes to Bustamente"--but I don't see Davis salvaging his popularity in less than two months, nor can I imagine Bustamente beating Schwarzenegger in a one-on-one campaign. The only real hope I see for Bustamente is that other Republicans--mainly Bill Simon--will smear Arnold mercilessly for his personal history and moderate social views, splitting the vote. Cheers,
Bustamante now seems to be edging ahead of Schwarzenegger (25% to 22%): http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/08/16/california/index.html Cheers,
A friend of mine had an interesting twist to this. She thinks that if the republican party looks as if they will win (Arnold), then Davis will resign and yes, that means Bustamante will be the next in command. Davis can resign up to recall day and the recall is over. I wonder why the news coverage hasn't caught onto this, any thoughts?
"If Gov. Davis resigns, Bustamante would automatically become governor, but whether he remained governor beyond October would depend on the results of the October 7 recall election, experts said. [...] Election law experts agree that even if Davis does resign, the second ballot question (who should replace Davis) would remain binding." -- http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1214593.html
I am surprised to see such a big Schwarzenegger vote. I voted for him also. I like that he is a moderate Republican. I think it is time the GOP came back to the days of Rockefeller, Romney, Nixon, Percy, etc. Hopefully if Arnold wins he will have some influence in the shape of the GOP to come. One can only hope. The Governor's race here in Indiana looks like it will be a shoe-in for Mitch Daniels, former Bush Admin Budget Director, for the GOP nod. Two really good men and a third I didn't care for have dropped out.
