It’s been an interesting race so far. For those of you not so into the politics, Meg Whitman easily closed off Steve Poizner in the GOP gubernatorial primary during the summer break, and Jerry Brown announced his candidacy. It was all about the best candidate for a while — who would make California a better place and fix all the many problems, both social and economic.
The past few weeks, now, have taken on a much different tone — attack, attack, attack ... and it’s barely September. Now, the two heavyweights seem deadlocked, despite Whitman spending a hundred million bucks of her own, earned personal money and Brown running a lower-key campaign except for the huge financial support (and tons of advertising) from every major union in the state.
Already, Whitman’s been demonized as — yes, a successful CEO who can run a company — but a flip-flopper more interested winning the race than representing constituents. On the Democrats’ side is Brown — a guy who’s had plenty of experience, as California governor in the 70s, but also struggled mightily with nearly every financial issue he ever faced.
So essentially it’s Whitman for improved recession economics — something California has come to embody as one of the world’s largest economies — and Brown for liberal social values that have come to exemplify the California way of life.
No one is bold enough to say the options are perfect, but the November election will certainly speak volumes as to California’s biggest priorities.
