[GAsux]

I don't want to get into the merits of the recall process argument because its already going in circles and has probably run it's course.

As for my niavety, I am not saying this makes me credible but I will add that I too live in California, and have for the past 28+ years. Davis lack of support goes far deeper than the "5%" drop in popularity polls you've mentioned. It's been building for several years and I think you'll find that all polls aside, even in relatively heavily democratic areas of the state people aren't too happy with Davis. It's education spending, it's the power fiasco, it's the budget problems, etc. I honestly believe that Davis re-election this past go around has more to do with lack of a viable option than it does with any kind of validation of Davis's leadership. I think you might discover that a lot of folks picked Davis as the lesser of two evils.

As for the "movement" forgive me if I used bad semantics. Perhaps some of the recall effort was in fact driven by stooges. I suppose there is only one way to test your theory. We'll find out when the people go to the polls again. I would imagine that will demonstrate whether or not this effort is merely political posturing or genuine discontent.

In terms of the stepping aside bit, all theorizing aside, I'm saying that the Dems in California faced a cross roads. Maintain their loyalty to the party and their candidate and point out fault in the system at the risk of losing their leadership, or cut their losses and at least maintain some semblance of control in the states affairs.

I'm not saying the voters in the fine state of California are ready to shift to the right and support conservatism (see Sen. Boxer and Fienstien, Repl Waters, etc) but I think you will see more and more bipartisan discontent with the leadership of Gov. Davis himself.