Phil's Missing the Boat

On the heels of a new Field Poll showing Phil Angelides down by eight points to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but with the incumbent still well under 50%, the current heat wave and energy woes in California can be, as I said last night, a teachable moment. There have already been spot blackouts. About 175,000 customers lost power on Sunday, but that was due largely to failing transformers. The ISO is making it through by the skin of their teeth right now.

But here's Angelides' whole problem in a nutshell:

State Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat running for governor, criticized the Schwarzenegger administration for its handling of the state's energy resources. "We shouldn't be asking businesses to shut down or the elderly to turn off their air conditioners," he told reporters.

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Julie Soderlund defended the state's utilities, noting they met California's power supply needs amid record temperatures.

Excuse me? Is the Democrat now the ANTI-conservation candidate?

That's horrible, horrible politics. I'm not supporting Arnold but even I would be on his side in that debate. There's such an appealing story to be told here and Angelides is missing the boat. The voters believe in their hearts that they're being scammed again. They see the giant freeway signs lit up saying "conserve energy" and they want to believe that government's screwing them. Angelides hasn't told that story. But it's out there. Did you know that Southern California Edison is raising rates next month for the THIRD time this year? Did you know that Arnold's first chief of staff was a Chevron-Texaco lobbyist?

Tie Arnold to Big Energy, Phil. It's your last best chance.