CALIFORNIA'S CHOICE - Winning over the voters is a question of good timing

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 10/29/6 | John Wildermuth

[SmithL]

Phil Angelides may have won the Democratic primary for governor last April when he ignited the state party convention with a fiery speech slamming Democrats who tried to work with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But that same speech could end up costing the state treasurer the gubernatorial election on Nov. 7.

California voters, tired of what they see as years of partisan gridlock in Sacramento, are responding to Schwarzenegger's effort to put a new, bipartisan face on his administration and work closely with the Democratic leadership in the Legislature to get things done.

"I'm extremely happy about Democrats and Republicans working so well together,'' Schwarzenegger said in an interview with The Chronicle's editorial board. "Everyone has found their groove ... we can trust each other.''

That's not the way Angelides sees it. Since California voters ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in favor of Schwarzenegger in the 2003 recall election, Angelides has styled himself as the "anti-Arnold," the one Democrat who could be counted on to fight Schwarzenegger all day, every day.

"I'm proud that I never, ever supported the Bush-Schwarzenegger agenda ...," Angelides told the cheering party faithful at the Sacramento convention. "I stood up to this governor from Day 1.''

Angelides spent much of the primary campaign attacking state Controller Steve Westly for working with Schwarzenegger to pass Propositions 57 and 58, a pair of 2004 measures designed to ease California's budget crunch.

[calcowgirl]

In the months that followed, he hired as his chief of staff Susan Kennedy, a longtime Democratic activist who had worked in the Davis administration. And during discussions over the state budget and controversial legislation such as minimum wage increases, measures to combat global warming, and state infrastructure bonds, he negotiated with Democratic leaders rather than just threatening them with his veto pen.

The result was a 2006 legislative session that was dubbed one of the most productive in decades and plenty of campaign-time pictures of Schwarzenegger standing next to beaming Democrats as he signed their bills.

The democrats and leftist media think this was "productive" and a "success" and keep calling it "bipartisan," despite the fact that the vast majority, if not 100%, of Republican legislators opposed these bills.

Angelides is confident that the Democratic wave putting Congress within the party's reach will boost his own campaign. "The race is changing very quickly,'' Angelides told reporters in San Francisco recently. "This is going to be a close horse race.''

Yo! Phil! Check your horse! It's terminally ill! The race was over before it started!