| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
LOS ANGELES (AP) At first glance, the pieces of the recall puzzle don't seem to fit.
Gov. Gray Davis, a Mr. Rogers double but minus the charm, inspires little voter affection but wasn't caught with his hand in the till. And the budget problems here don't fully explain it; other states face their own red ink.
Still, come Tuesday, Davis could be the second U.S. governor recalled from office. (North Dakotans ousted Lynn Frazier in 1921.)
Spasms of discontent occur at regular intervals in the sometimes unsunny Golden State: The ``We're Mad as Hell State'' could be the license plate slogan. From property tax revolts in the 1970s to state Supreme Court justice ousters in the '80s to term limits in the '90s, Californians have shown they can apply direct democracy as readily as sunblock.
For some, bouncing the governor would not be enough. ``I'd like to recall most of the Legislature,'' said Bruce Beasley, a businessman in Orange County.
But even this feisty tradition didn't prepare Californians and the nation for the dozens of candidates, thousands of jokes and millions of dollars that the trend-setting state has dished up this time around.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's candidacy pumped up the recall like a shot of steroids, helping create a convergence of celebrity and national politics. The contest has fed partisan anger, reviving memories of the contested Florida presidential election, and shaken up party loyalties.
Exciting times in California. Maybe the most ever? ``Outside the founding of the state itself, yes,'' said state librarian Kevin Starr, reaching deep into the mists of 1850.
And there is potential for the outcome to reverberate far beyond Tuesday's election and California's borders, in the 22 other states that have initiative, referendum or recall provisions.
``Hope so,'' Ted Costa, head of the People's Advocate taxpayers group that launched the recall movement, said with optimistic brevity as the vote neared.
Costa's quest, and the state's wild ride, began in February when People's Advocate announced the recall effort. ``We can't wait four years (for the next election). We have to get our financial house in order,'' he said.
The announcement fit easily into California's heritage. In the early 20th century, when government was under the thumb of corrupt big business, progressive Gov. Hiram Johnson pushed for recall and initiative provisions that make citizen power plays a relative snap.
This time around, California had gone from a $10 billion budget surplus in 1999, when Davis became governor, to a $38 billion deficit. The deficit now is projected to be about $8 billion for the next fiscal year.
While many analysts agreed he could have done little to prevent the 2000-01 energy crisis or shield the nation's most populous state from a nationwide economic malaise, his critics had none of it.
They blamed him for that and more, including lying about the size of the deficit to win re-election in November, which Davis denied.
Davis protested that he shouldn't have to take the rap for the economy or for energy policies enacted by previous administrations.
But in supermarket parking lots, at malls, at stadiums, voters began signing their names to recall petitions. Their anger was fed on several fronts: a tripling of the state vehicle tax to make up part of the deficit; rising student fees at community colleges and universities, and Davis' reputation as a voracious fund-raiser who put the desires of big-money special interests ahead of the public good.
The grassroots petition process progressed slowly until Republican Congressman Darrell Issa stepped in.
Issa, who represents a northern San Diego County district and made his fortune in car alarms, spent more than $1.7 million on the recall drive and explored his own run to replace Democrat Davis.
About 900,000 signatures were required; by mid-July, the effort had collected nearly double that. It was clear that GOP discontent alone wasn't fueling the drive. As Republicans had predicted, they needed disaffected Democrats and independents to make it happen.
When the election was set for Oct. 7, the action really started.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, considered a shoo-in to replace Davis if she ran, called the vote ``a terrible mistake'' and declined. That flung the door open wide enough for the big guy muscleman, actor and now Republican politician Schwarzenegger.
He strolled through on the arm of ``Tonight'' host Jay Leno, who provided an NBC stage for Schwarzenegger's Aug. 6 announcement. The decision to run, the actor told America, was his toughest since agreeing to a 1978 bikini wax.
Schwarzenegger clearly intended to run his own race, his way.
He was highly visible on talk shows that featured friendly hosts such as Oprah Winfrey and Larry King, and nearly invisible when it came to debates and interviews with political reporters, especially early in the campaign.
With Schwarzenegger's star power, the contest became the most heavily covered statewide election ever on the ABC, NBC and CBS nightly newscasts, according to the Tyndall Report, which monitors the programs.
It was also expensive, costing the state an estimated $66 million to put on. Candidates' spending approached that amount; with about two weeks left, they had already run through a combined $50 million.
Schwarzenegger had to concede a fraction of the spotlight to 134 other candidates, including Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who broke ranks to provide a known Democratic alternative, Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, Green Party candidate Peter Camejo, columnist Arianna Huffington and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who soon dropped out.
Issa, lacking voter and party support, was not part of the field. He wept as he announced he wouldn't run, a touching recall moment.
``It was Darrell Issa's money that made it possible, although in his case it didn't produce the desired effect that is, Gov. Issa,'' said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College.
Other candidates jumped in, investing $3,500 (such a bargain!) for the filing fee.
``Hustler'' publisher Larry Flynt praised Californians' progressiveness, saying, ``I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor.''
The most colorful candidate? Nope. Not given Angelyne, a buxom blonde best known for her Los Angeles-area billboards. Or porn actress Mary Carey, whose platform included a breast implant tax.
Schwarzenegger had his own past to answer for, including a racy interview with Oui magazine in which he boasted of sexual exploits. Faced with a potential female voter backlash, he claimed he was just talking big and called on wife Maria Shriver a career woman, Kennedy woman and stand-by-your-man woman for help.
On Thursday, starting a San Diego-to-Sacramento campaign trip, he issued a confession that he'd ``behaved badly'' with women and was ``sorry about that.''
The Los Angeles Times had quoted six women as saying he had groped or sexually harassed them. Meanwhile, ABC News and The New York Times reported Schwarzenegger told an interviewer in 1975 that he admired Adolf Hitler's rise to power from humble beginnings. The candidate said he had no recollection of such comments and called the Nazi leader a ``disgusting villain.''
Huffington became a Schwarzenegger gadfly. As the two sparred during a recent debate, she pointed her finger at him and interjected, ``This is the way you treat women.'' Schwarzenegger responded by saying he had the perfect part for her in his next ``Terminator'' sequel.
When she dropped out, she threw her support to Davis and the anti-recall side.
It didn't take long for Easterners to start firing the usual salvos at the Wild, Wacky West. A Washington Times columnist referred to California as ``the place where the fruits intersect with the nuts.''
The word on the street wasn't much kinder.
``We're looking at California saying, `What's going on?''' Dina Haskal of Somerset, N.J., said in August. ``We are scratching our heads.''
So, it turned out, were some aghast Californians.
``The average IQ in this country is 99. In California, we test out at 96,'' said Stanley W. Moore, a Pepperdine University political scientist, lamenting an obsession with celebrity candidates reaching back to Ronald Reagan.
True to Hollywood, the recall played by its own lively script.
Former President Clinton, brought in to help energize the party base, spoke at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church with a preacher's fervor. The recall was part of a right-wing power grab, Clinton said, entreating, ``Don't do this. Don't do this.''
If Davis, whose kindest descriptor is ``robotic,'' hoped for a Clinton charm transplant it didn't take. The governor continued to fall in the polls a recent one showed him with a 62 percent unfavorable rating.
Cranky Californians pushed up voter registration and prompted predictions of high election day turnout.
In the midst of what many called a circus, a three-member federal appeals court panel temporarily stopped the show disallowing an election using outdated voting equipment in some precincts. The decision was quickly overruled by an 11-member panel.
Most of the state's major newspapers are recommending that their readers vote against the recall. They did the same thing with Prop. 13, which slashed property taxes.
``But the majority said, 'The heck with you.' It really was a voter revolt,''' said Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the nonpartisan California Target Book guide to state elections.
State librarian Starr, speaking from the state capital, Sacramento, sees the same dynamic at work now.
``Initiatives come when people feel frustrated. If they (politicians) don't get the message, they'll be seeing a whole new generation of politicians. There will be all kinds of Schwarzeneggers up here then.''