PRESTOPUNDIT -- "It's a team sport, baby!"

Schwarzenegger has a 10-point plan for his first 100 days as governor. California Insider thinks Schwarzenegger will get much of what he wants:

“We are ready to take office,” [Schwarzenegger] said. “We are ready to act.”

But can he succeed? I think he can. Just as Schwarzenegger has rewritten the rules of political campaigning, if he wins, he will be able to re-write the rules of governing. He would do this because he would have an ability that the Legislature does not have and that most governors before him have not been able to master: the ability to communicate directly with the people of California ...

But I think the dominant theme of a Schwarzenegger Administration would be follow-through. Consider the seemingly small matter of education finance reform. Everyone in Sacramento knows that the special programs that riddle the education budget are a joke, decades of pet projects built upon special deals on top of obsolete ideas. The Sacramento Bee published an amazing series earlier this year documenting all of this. Davis promised to overhaul it. But when he ran into opposition, which was inevitable, he caved. Somehow I think Schwarzenegger would follow through where Davis backed down. It’s just a gut feeling I have. Maybe I’m completely wrong. But I think I’m right.

More than anything I think it's this sense that Schwarzenegger will a force to be reckoned with in Sacramento which has brought him so much support, particularly among Republicans who want to see something or someone who can protect their pockets from the theives who populate the capital. This sense of force comes from many places -- the power of personal charisma, a track record of winning, raw celebrity, a highly positive attitude, great independent wealth, etc. and it is this sense of shear force and power that is captivating to voters -- both as political theater and as political promise. Schwarzenegger has the "I paid for this microphone" sense about him that signals to people that he's going to get things done. And he has resources of personality, celebrity, charm, etc. that will bring power to the table in Sacramento -- through fundraising ability, through raw persuasion, and through a fame-spawned personal link to the people that is close to unprecedented in statewide politics.

People sense that all this will make a difference -- and lets hope it will, because the problems of the state are very real.

Posted by Greg Ransom | TrackBack