The conventional wisdom of California's star-struck political press is that if Propositions 57 ($15 billion bond) and 58 (borrowing restrictions and reserve requirements) pass on March 2, it will be a sign of Schwarzenegger's brilliant "populist" appeal. Here are some samples, where you can see various people who should know better gushing along those lines:
Governor grabs for political prize San Jose Mercury News 02/29/04
Tour de force for Schwarzenegger Contra Costa Times 02/29/04 (this uses a lot of material from the Mercury News piece)
Primary election is mostly about what's not happening by Dan Walters Sacramento Bee 02/29/04 (Walters buys the idea about Schwarzenegger and the campaigns for 57 and 58, but his brief comments on the measures themselves are good.)
Election a test of governor's clout Los Angeles Times 02/29/04
This mainly illustrates Bob Somerby's (The Daily Howler) point about today's pundits. They're as committed to comforting the comfortable as are the two parties (especially the Republicans). Schwarzenegger the star governor is a more pleasing story than Schwarzenegger the budget savior who couldn't even propose a balanced budget, or a Schwarzenegger who goes on national TV and lies recklessly about "riots" around gay marriage in San Francisco.
Both these propositions have broad bipartisan support. They have virtually no active opposition. If Schwarzenegger isn't successful in getting them passed with a high-profile and well-financed media blitz, it would be a major sign of his appeal failing already. A more serious test of his abilities, and a much more meaningful reform, would have been for him to actively back Prop 56, which gives more reasonable flexibility to the legislature to pass balance budgets. He didn't do that.
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