From vice president for fake IDs to California governor?
The state's 2006 gubernatorial contest is a long way off. But the contours of Democratic challenger Phil Angelides's strategy for knocking off the country's most famous governor are becoming clear: Come out swinging, and go early and often to his left.
Angelides, the state treasurer, savaged Arnold Schwarzenegger's record in a lunchtime interview yesterday while repeatedly attempting to tie the Republican governor to President Bush. The president lost California last year by 10 percentage points.
Angelides, a wealthy real estate developer -- once described on the television show "The Simpsons" as vice president for calendars and fake IDs for (Homer's favorite) Duff Beer -- questioned Schwarzenegger's honesty and portrayed him as beholden to special interests. While the race is ostensibly about who ought to run the country's most populous state, Angelides invoked Bush's name more than a dozen times, reminding reporters that Schwarzenegger stumped for the president in Ohio in the campaign's closing weeks.
Angelides said he supports raising the state's taxes on its wealthiest residents, in hopes of closing its persistent budget gap. "I'm not someone who wants to raise taxes, but I want to balance this budget fairly," he said.
The election is about 18 months away, and Schwarzenegger has not said whether he'll run for a second term. It remains to be seen whether any more Democrats will get into the contest. Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced last week that he's out, while Controller Steve Westly has signaled that he's in.
Angelides explained how he, an otherwise obscure state official, came to be mentioned on "The Simpsons": "Apparently what happened -- we looked into it -- is they ["Simpsons" writers] were in a writing session and they were coming up with names, and someone said, 'Let's call him Phil Angelides,' " he said. "They just liked the name."
Kerry Back on the Attack
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is getting back in the political ad business. The former presidential candidate asked his online supporters yesterday to help pay for an ad in USA Today, denouncing Senate Republicans' plans to invoke the "nuclear option" to bar Democrats from filibustering President Bush's judicial nominees.
"They refuse to deal with the things that really matter to the American people," the ad said, according to his e-mail. "Make Washington stand up for the needs and values of America's families."
The ad features pictures of Bush, along with GOP leaders Bill Frist (Tenn.) and Tom DeLay (Tex.).
