Opinion

Two years after Hubert Humphrey’s loss to Richard Nixon in 1968, the late liberal icon and Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith pumped out a book, “Who Needs the Democrats — and What It Takes to Be Needed.” In this volume — curiously slim at 86 pages, given its grandiose title — the author laid…

Do voters have to love you to elect you? That’s a question all political candidates and strategists ponder from time to time. Tuesday’s debacle in the California governor’s race provides some food for thought on this count. In elections for high executive office such as president and governor, most voters don’t choose based on…

Autopsies are never pleasant or pretty. But sometimes they’re necessary to find out just how someone met their demise — and post-mortems are equally appropriate for failed political candidates. Take Phil Angelides. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger demolished the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in yesterday’s election, despite a national trend that put more Democrats in office. Even…

One of the funnier moments from my time toiling as chief of staff to then-Lt. Gov. Gray Davis in the mid-’90s was a visit by a group of sixth graders to the state Capitol. Walking by Davis’ office, one of the schoolgirls spied the sign above the door, which read “Lt. Governor.” “Who is…

With the governor’s race looking increasingly like a laugher, the contest for secretary of state this year may be an interesting one to watch. It will test some longstanding historical precedents and certain basic assumptions on the part of both major parties. Incumbent Secretary of State Bruce McPherson is a bright and decent guy,…

In last week’s Capitol Weekly, State Treasurer and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides painted himself as the Jolly Green Giant — a veritable trailblazer and trendsetter on environmental issues. “Environmental protection is, and has always been, at the center of my work in my career both as a businessman and elected official,” Angelides boasted…

What’s in a name?” the fair heroine asks her star-crossed lover in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Juliet concludes. But that was before anybody met Phil Angelides. The state treasurer and Democratic gubernatorial candidate has a long history of gratuitous name-calling—and…

I’ve watched with interest — and no little amusement — as state Treasurer Phil Angelides has attempted to orchestrate a sense of momentum and inevitability in his quest for the Democratic nomination for governor. For most of the last year, Angelides has run the classic insider’s campaign, announcing with great fanfare the endorsements of dozens…

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recently called special election reminds me of a classic scene out of funnyman Mel Brooks’ 1981 flick, “History of the World: Part I.” In this bit, the Moses character — played by Brooks himself with a bad fake beard — comes down from the mountaintop with three stone tablets, each with…

As campaign communications director for City Councilman Michael Wood in the 1993 Los Angeles mayor’s race, I witnessed firsthand how racial stereotypes and innuendo are used to damage the candidacy and unfairly impugn the integrity of a minority candidate. And as Mayor James Hahn gets more desperate in his campaign against City Councilman Antonio…