Editorial: A political stunner

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 8:56 a.m.

The recall campaign against California Gov. Gray Davis ended Tuesday with an impressive victory for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Austrian-born actor, who has never before held elective office, will become Republican governor of the nation's most populous state, which would be the world's fifth-largest economy if it were a nation.

Some Republicans referred to Schwarzenegger's victory as a return to "Reagan Country" for California, but Schwarzenegger has yet to prove he is a match for Ronald Reagan. The former president, an actor himself who was elected governor of California in 1966, had a well-defined conservative ideology, something that can't be said for Schwarzenegger. During the campaign, Schwarzenegger touted limits on government spending as a way to revive California's economy, but he deliberately avoided spelling out just what difficult choices he would make to balance the budget. Indeed, an exit poll of California voters found that two-thirds believed Schwarzenegger didn't address the issues in enough detail, so he won't enter office with a mandate to carry out a specific set of policies. Schwarzenegger also will face challenges because he is a social moderate, which puts h im out of step with many in the right-wing of the GOP who have come to dominate party politics. This could result in fricti! on with fellow Republicans in the near future as he seeks to govern.

Nevertheless, Democrats who underestimate Schwarzenegger will do so at their own peril, especially considering just how well he did in a state that has been dominated by Democrats in recent years. Schwarzenegger obviously has tapped into a well of genuine disenchantment with business-as-usual politics in the Golden State. The big question now is whether he will be able to translate this victory into action in the often brutal world of politics.