Summing up the day in politics, CNN's Aaron Brown turned to Jeff Greenfield (who began his career at the Daily Cardinal at the U of Wisconsin-Madison) and said something like: "Man, it's times like this when politics can be so much FUN!" I wasn't taking notes, so this isn't a direct quote, but I knew exactly how he felt.
To recap: Arianna Huffington announced on the Today show Wednesday morning that she would run for governor in California's recall election. She will be the high-profile independent in this race, and will probably take the place of Green Peter Camejo. A few hours later Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the most popular California Democrat, said definitively that she wouldn't allow her name on the recall ballot. A few hours after that Jerry Springer announced he wasn't running for the US Senate from Ohio. And everyone waited for the ho-hum final announcement that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be terminating his non-campaign for governor. Said announcement coming on the Tonight show--good day for NBC, I guess.
At different points in the day, we also heard that Gary Coleman was running, and that a 99-cent store chain was advertising for a 99-year-old to run as its candidate. Howard Dean remembered that he did indeed favor at one time an increase in the Social Security retirement age (after taking umbrage at Dennis Kucinich's attack on this point at the AFL-CIO forum). Oh, and Kobe Bryant was arraigned.
So, knowing that Leno taped at 6:30 PM Central time, I tuned in to CNN, just to see when the flash would come across the wire. A little after 7 PM, Paula Zahn was chatting with someone I don't even remember about Kobe Bryant when someone began shouting in her ear. "Excuse me for a moment, we're going to talk to (low-profile air personality) who's sitting in the Green Room at the Tonight show in Burbank, and you may be surprised at what he's going to say." That was the last we heard about Kobe for the rest of the hour (merciful gods).
Suddenly what was shaping up as a bizarre political event, even for California, was turning completely surreal. Now what happens? Well, Davis' lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante announced he would get in, the first break in the Democratic ranks. State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi may also join the fray. The list of potential candidates at the California Secretary of State's office--now at 356--is likely to grow. At least till Saturday, when all the fees and signatures are due.
In the days of 24-hour news channels, summer has always produced one essentially silly story, usually crime-related, that the networks have followed to death. Shark attacks, Gary Condit, Elizabeth Smart and the like. We were looking at Kobe Bryant and Laci Peterson as the poster children of this summer. Let me declare now that, while there are certainly silly elements to this recall, I'd rather have this be the story of the summer. There's actual substance here.
Let me also declare that perhaps the recall demonstrates the truth of Emma Goldman's adage: "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." Californians now face the the prospect of endless recall elections financed by wealthy right-wingers (and the occasional liberal backlash). This will not change anything. Even if Huffington, Camejo or even Peace and Freedom candidate C. T. Weber somehow becomes governor after this circus, without a real movement for independent politics and action for working people, nothing changes.
But I won't tell you it isn't fun to watch.
12:09:16 AM 
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