Something old, something new, new should win but the state seems too blue

I haven’t been paying much attention to the gubernatorial races this year. No doubt, they are important, but for me this election is about stopping the Obama Express and laying the groundwork for turning it around. This can only be accomplished through the congressional elections
Of all the races for governor, California’s seems like the most interesting. Meg Whitman, seemingly an attractive challenger despite the flap over her employment of an illegal immigrant, has already spent $163 million of her own money. Yet, she still trails Jerry Brown.
Jerry Brown, for heaven’s sake.
I’m not saying that Jerry Brown is a retread, but the last time he ran for governor as a challenger, I followed his campaign as a law school student in California. I’m not saying that Brown is a retread, but Brown ran for president so long ago that I could have voted for him in the Democratic primary, as I was still a registered (though not a practicing) Democrat.
And it’s not just that Brown is a retread. He occupied the office he’s seeking and did a terrible job — so terrible that Republicans held the office for the next 16 years. Why Jerry Brown for governor; why not Gray Davis?
So, how is it that Whitman, with all of her resources, is having so much trouble against Brown in a wave Republican year? Having never really understood California even when I lived there, I can’t say. My guess is that Whitman can’t quite catch the wave because some of the anger behind it is directed against the Republican governor she wants to replace.

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