Barack Obama is president and California voted for him.

So, what's in it for us?

As with many political questions, the answer depends on whom you ask.

"I think the route for California to have influence (in the White House) has been enhanced," said Bruce Cain, a University of California political science professor who is director of the UC Washington Center in Washington, D.C.

"It may mean that California Democrats get their phone calls answered quickly, but it doesn't guarantee any results," said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont- McKenna College.

It's undeniable that incomplete returns from Tuesday's election show Obama thrashing GOP presidential contender John McCain by about 2.5 million votes in California, or about one-third of Obama's total national victory margin.

But aside from two years spent at Occidental College in Los Angeles, the Illinois senator's personal ties to the Golden State are tenuous at best.

Moreover, with the possible (and almost certainly fanciful) exception of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the possible (and less fanciful) exception of former eBay executive and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Steve Westly as candidates for secretary of energy, the names of very few Californians are being bandied about as potential members of the Obama administration.

"Right now," said Cain, "it's not looking like there are a ton of Californians heading into the White House."

But Californians who have had intimate contact with previous administrations suggest it would be politically foolish for Obama to ignore the needs and wants of the nation's most populous state.

"When he's had to raise money, he's come to California, he put together a strong campaign out here, a lot of volunteers," said Leon Panetta, a former California congressman who served in the Clinton administration as director of the Office of Management and Budget and as Clinton's chief of staff.

"I suspect he's not going to ignore that. I think California will get a lot of attention. It's probably not going to get as much attention as Illinois, but it'll be somewhere high on the list."

Panetta and others with ties to past administrations said it would be helpful if at least one or two of Obama's senior advisers have ties to California.

"It makes a huge difference," said Sal Russo, a Sacramento political consultant who worked for Ronald Reagan when Reagan was California governor, and then for Gov. George Deukmejian when Reagan was president.

"I could call (a number of Californians in the White House) if there was something Gov. Deukmejian needed. I could get someone on the phone immediately at the White House. Not only could I get them on the phone, they were interested in what I had to say, because it was their state, too."

Even President Bush, a Texan with few direct ties to California, has had an inordinate number of Californians in his administration, among them former Secretary of Agriculture and Modesto native Ann Veneman; former Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta; and former national security adviser and current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"The White House and Cabinet have been populous with Californians," said Jim Brulte, a political consultant and former GOP state Senate leader who was co-chair of Bush's 2000 campaign and is a friend of the president.

Part of the reason, Brulte said, was the state's large talent pool, and part was because California had been key to Bush winning the 2000 GOP presidential nomination.

"If President-elect Obama would like to be President re-elect Obama, he's got to keep California in his column," Brulte said.

But Russo said that while it helps to be the president's home state, it helps more to be a state the president needs to keep happy.

Before his 1984 re-election campaign, for example, Reagan's political team determined that if he won Ohio, he could not lose the election.

"As a consequence," Russo said, "if there was anything good to be done anywhere, it was done in Ohio."

How much actual good a president can do for a particular state is problematical, according to Pitney.

"A lot of (federal) spending reflects formulas, reflects entitlements," he said. "The amount of discretionary spending a president can move around is actually very small."

But Cain thinks the combination of a Democratic president who considers team play one of his biggest strengths and the presence of Californian Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House bodes well for California.

"Nancy Pelosi got a power boost," Cain said. The California delegation and Pelosi in particular "are going to have a strong hand in the Obama agenda."

Cain thinks the timing is also good because California is on the cutting edge of marrying technology and the environment, creating a "green economy" that could be a big part in the nation's economic recovery.

"When I arrived (in D.C.) at the end of '05, the state was painted with the stereotype of the kooky left-wingers who didn't make any contribution to American cultural life," Cain said.

"It was a distortion at the time … but now, two years later, there is a much greater understanding that the state has a lot more to it than the stereotype, and I think the Obama camp recognizes that."

Call Steve Wiegand, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1076.