California Insider

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Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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June 25, 2003

Davis heightens counterattack

It’s generally not a good sign when a candidate for governor has public safety folks demanding that he “make public his full criminal record.” Which is what Rep. Issa is facing today in the wake of the story disclosing a second arrest for auto theft in his past. And Issa may yet go down in the face of the nuclear bomb the Davis folks are dropping on him. But I think Davis is better off with Issa in the race than without him. If Issa were to drop out of the running for governor, Davis would be left trying to persuade voters that they should oppose the recall because they never would have had a chance to vote for it if not for a twice-charged (though never convicted) car thief. That’s not going to fly. But if Issa is still there, with a chance to be governor if Davis is thrown out, then you have the ability for the governor to once again portray himself as the lesser of evils, his personal specialty.