Californians abuzz over recall
From the Bay area to Imperial Valley, the circus-like election is disgusting some and galvanizing others to vote on Oct. 7.
On a 108-degree F. morning in the dust and desert sun of California's Imperial Valley, exuberance can seem in short supply - especially in lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
But trucker Bill Anderson makes little effort to suppress his enthusiasm. In fact, he's so excited that he can't help interrupting a nearby conversation to offer his opinion. Not on the heat or the price of alfalfa. But on politics. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be the "people's governor," growls the grizzled Mr. Anderson, displaying the only jolt of energy in the room. "He'll take care of all those crooked politicians in Sacramento."
Like many Californians, Anderson has been energized by a recall that has swung between high political drama and vaudeville comedy. Some are intrigued, others are disgusted - few are indifferent.
From El Centro to the northern coastline, citizens tick off deficit estimates like seasoned CPAs and run down the list of major candidates as confidently as political reporters. Whatever their opinions of this unusual political process, frustrated Californians are tuning in and sounding off.
"Voters are serious about the process," says Mark DiCamillo of the Field Poll in San Francisco. "There is a renewed interest [in politics], and it's leading to more discussion about California and the future of its leadership."
Specifically, he points to surveys that indicate that an unusually high number of respondents intend to vote in the Oct. 7 election. A recent NBC News poll put the figure at 78 percent.
Here amid the scrub and sweat of Imperial County, ambivalent voters are about as common as a cool breeze. And support for Mr. Schwarzenegger's candidacy is as hot as the border sun.
"Schwarzenegger entering greatly increased the interest level," says Jack Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in southern California.
But this is supposed to be Davis Country. It was one of only 18 counties that voted for governor Davis in the 2002 election - as opposed to the 40 that voted against him. Only eight counties collected fewer signatures per registered voter during the push to get the recall on the ballot. Here, only 28 percent of registered voters are Republicans.
Yet the buzz is decidedly about the Austrian-born bodybuilder. "He's more outgoing and up front, and he speaks his mind," says Joyce Gentry, a Demo crat who is waiting in line at the DMV with her parents.
Across town at the local diner, the sentiments are - if anything - even stronger. "He'll be a smart enough guy to have people around him who know things," says self-described news junkie Dean Tucker as he leans over the lunch counter. A few tables away, Rhonda Derrick says the prospect of Schwarzenegger in Sacramento is scrumptious: "He can't do any worse" than Davis.
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