How in the world did Arnold Schwarzenegger become Govenor of California?
After the energy industry – led by Enron – manipulated the California electrical marketplace, causing rolling blackouts, immense price spikes, and near-bankruptcy of the state, then-Governor Gray Davis failed to act aggressively. California had already been hard-hit by the bursting of the “dot-com” bubble, and then the economic fallout from 9/11, so the state was in sheer misery. Davis, someone I knew personally, was a machine politician without any serious political base and no personal capability to take the initiative to lead the state out of financial disaster. Recall of Davis was an opportunistic move launched by a group of ultra-conservative Republicans from Orange County. They had the personal wealth and connections with other ultra-conservatives in the state to finance the signature drive that forced a recall election, but they were hardly prepared for what followed. More than 30 candidates offered themselves on the ballot as a replacement governor if Davis were recalled. One w
