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Editorial: No place like home
Governor, let's cut the global photo ops
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B6
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi must be thankful that Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor. For the last three days, Schwarzenegger has been fiddling about in Europe while Lake Tahoe burns, giving Garamendi a chance to step into the spotlight and demonstrate that his office actually serves a purpose.
Schwarzenegger's untimely absence works well for the maligned office of the lieutenant governor, but it is less helpful for everyone else in California. These are crucial times. The governor needs to be goading the Legislature to enact a state budget that is free of gimmicks and reasonably on time. We need him to make the final push for health care reform and implementation of a global warming law that could become a model for international action.
On top of all that comes a fire season that has already burned more than 275 Lake Tahoe homes and continues to threaten thousands of others. While an on-scene celebrity governor could complicate the job of firefighters, it would be nice to know that Schwarzenegger was at least at his desk, ensuring that fire crews have all they need and that agency turf battles are kept to a minimum.
Schwarzenegger aides say he has been regularly monitoring the Angora fire even as he met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday and outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday. We are sure that, between toasts and power breakfasts, Schwarzenegger was paying close attention to the blaze. Still, there is no substitute for actually being in the state you govern, no matter your confidence in staff and unelected bureaucrats.
Since he was elected in 2003, Schwarzenegger has defined governor as wayfarer. By the end of 2006, the governor had been out of state nearly 200 days. This year, he has junketed to numerous states, Washington, D.C., Canada and now Europe, with his latest trip covered by a foundation with ties to the California Chamber of Commerce.
Schwarzenegger has set a broad and ambitious agenda, but the frequent junketing hasn't helped him attend to the details, possibly his greatest failing as governor.
Is he getting bored with the job? We hope not. If California truly is a nation-state, as he has claimed, it needs a leader with his feet on the ground.
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