Looking for Political Change in California

Instead of being a breath of fresh air in Sacramento, Gov Schwarzenegger is "a long-shot who failed to work out." That's not from a Democratic opponent, but a former chair of the state Republican Party, who says the Governor has swung wildly from left to right. In the Orange County Register, Schroeder wrote that the Governor should not run for re-election and that, if he does, he should not get the party's endorsement. Meantime, columnist Peter Schrag of the Sacramento Bee says the Governor's latest budget looks just like the last one. We hear from both.

• Reporter's Notebook: Legislators to Propose Citizens' Assembly
  Two assemblymen who've been marginalized by the left and the right in Sacramento are Joe Canciamilla (D-Pittsburg) and Keith Richman (R- Northridge). They're proposing a radical new idea to take the partisanship out of the process, assigning the task of government reform to ordinary citizens. Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters says that such "massive reform" will involve revising the Constitution, and that's not easy.

Schroeder's article on Schwarzenegger

Schrag's article on Governor Schwarzenegger, the "conciliator"

Sacramento Bee article on proposed overhaul of state electoral system