California Dreamin'

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There are six months to go until the gubernatorial primaries are held in California, but a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California indicates that Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, leads in the race for the Republican nomination.

Not too early for a little California dreamin' on such a winter's day.

It isn't an insurmountable lead. Whitman got 32%, which is a 20–point lead over her closest rival, but the survey indicates that most Californians aren't paying much attention to the race right now. My guess is that, right now, it is a name recognition contest at the very least, a popularity contest at the most. Still, I'm sure that any candidate who wants to win an election in a place like California would rather be recognized by the voters at this stage than not.

Whitman, the presumptive heir to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who (as I understand it) is barred by law from seeking another term, is the only Republican who runs neck and neck with former Gov. Jerry Brown, according to Rasmussen Reports.

Brown, by the way, was governor for two terms in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Because of the timing of his terms in office, the term limits that went into effect in 1990 do not apply to him.

Brown is an interesting fellow. He burst onto the national scene as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 after the primary campaign was under way, which meant he had missed the deadline in many states, but he managed to win a few primaries and made an initial splash with young voters as the boyfriend of singer Linda Ronstadt. While he was governor, Brown proposed buying a satellite that could be put into orbit to provide emergency communications capabilities for California — earning the nickname "Governor Moonbeam" from Chicago Sun–Times columnist Mike Royko.

But Brown is no flake. A lawyer with a degree from Yale Law School, Brown is currently California's attorney general. That satellite proposal of his may have been ridiculed by Royko in the 1970s, but the state ultimately followed his recommendation.

So the last laugh was his.

And he will be a tenacious foe when the voters are paying attention.