Centerfield

Recall

On the surface of it the California recall is the exercise of a direct popular power to limit abuse by elected officials, but the devil is, in fact, in the details:

The Washington Post speculates on which direction the recall is breaking

And the numbers come out the same - Davis might be more popular that the man who replaces him. Some how, while the idea of being able to recall an official who has failed to do the job, the result is that Davis could get 49% of the vote and be sent home to be replaced by someone who gets as little as 30%.

In a larger sense, the whole affair shows why mass media based politics is fundamentally flawed. Davis reached the governor's mansion by using negative ads against the stronger of his two challengers, and his likely successor is known for making films, not policy. Davis has garnered some of his unpopularity by running to what might be called the "middle" on specific issues, but on that most important of centrist issues - competence - he has been a failure.

What is urgently needed is some better means of finding and promoting the best people to office, or, we will be stuck with devil's choices between an experienced politician who has no mandate, and seemingly no ability to handle the pressures of governing - and an individual who could seriously say he won't propose a solution because he has no idea what the problem is.

While, superficially, both candidates appeal to the center - Schwarzenhagger is openly a social liberal to moderate in his positions, while Davis is certainly no one's idea of a liberal on almost any issue - both are lacking. It seems likely that Davis is to be sent home, but is this really a victory for a more accountable politics?

What the recall is, more than anything else, is a clear indication that "business as usual" politics is breaking down, and the public is searching for solutions, even those which entail a great deal of risk. This is an opportunity: with the partisanized and polarized forms of politics breaking down, the chance to appeal to the idea that the center is where sane, stable and strong government resides is being given a moment to shine.

Or we can look forward to the spectacle of Sheen running to oust Schwarzenhagger somewhere in the near future.