Schwarzenegger -- what might have been

Close your eyes and think back in time six years. There was excitement as Schwarzenegger delivered his first State of the State address in 2004; international, Washington and Southern California media flocked to sleepy Sacramento in such numbers that Capitol workers had to put up a tent to contain the overflow. The larger-than-life action figure garnered more raw votes in the crowded recall race than ousted Democrat Gov. Gray Davis won in the anemic 2002 general election. He could not exactly pronounce Cah-lee-fornia, yet he bounded into office with so much force that even before his first State of the State, he revoked the car tax and stared down the Legislature until it repealed a recently passed law to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Democrats held comfortable majorities in the Assembly and Senate, yet six years ago, many were terrified — they lowered their voices when they talked about him — at what the muscle man might make them do.

On the right, the big fear was that Schwarzenegger’s need to be liked would keep him from doing what needed to be done. As it turned out, Schwarzenegger pushed for budget reform and a tough pension overhaul to end pricey defined-benefit pensions for new state employees. Sadly, once his plans met resistance, rather than regird his loins, the governator slinked off the set in search of a new script.