Ultimately, argues Maclachlan, Schwarzenegger’s trademark issue might also define his entire governorship.
In some ways, Schwarzenegger’s environmental legacy is like his governorship in microcosm, embracing the middle road in a partisan environment. Leading green-minded Democrats took him to task in the areas where they disagreed. Most Republicans disliked that he was taking on environmental issues at all. That, in a nutshell, can describe the Schwarzenegger governorship as a whole.
As all three note, it is history—and his successor, Jerry Brown—that will define Schwarzenegger. But in the meantime, we will be keeping an eye on the California press to see which way Schwarzenegger’s “tomatometer” tips as he begins to pack his bags.
The disaster that is the state government of California didn't start with Schwarzenagger, and won't end with him. The L.A. Times and other papers were powers in the media-political echo chamber while Schwarzenegger was still competing in body-building competitions. Liberals trace California's problems to Prop. 13, which passed way back in 1978; conservatives, to the power gained by the public sector unions and spending that has bounded along quite above the rate of inflation. Either way, the real question for journalism students is: where was the press while this debacle was in its formative stages?
#1 Posted by Mark Richard, CJR on Mon 22 Nov 2010 at 12:27 PM