I would remind you that...
...people laughed when the recall idea was first proposed. They laughed harder while signatures were quietly and patiently being gathered, and they laughed hardest when the Secretary of State tried to refuse to certify the signatures that had been gathered when signature requirements were met. If it wasn't the recall itself being impossibly absurd, it was the field of candidates running. EVERYONE who said, "No," in any way, however, at ANY point in the entire process, has been PROVEN to be out of step and out of touch with political and social reality.
In short, THEY WERE ALL WRONG!
So, I would ask, what reason is there to believe that they are now suddenly correct in their assessments of the viability of Arnold's administration? There isn't even an administration in place to assess yet!!! Their analytical abilities are presumably the same ones they used to poo-poo the recall. That's some pretty shaky ground, as appropriate as that may be for California, upon which to rest new forecasts of doom and gloom for the state.
California is the fifth largest economy in the world! This state has an obligation to be better run than most because the consequences of NOT running it properly have a DIRECT and DRAMATIC bearing on the nation as a whole, like it or not. I think you have to give the voters here credit for understanding that, at the very least, they were not being served by their leader in a way that merited continued employment in that position.
I didn't vote for Arnold because I didn't think he was the best qualified candidate, but he DOES represent a significant change from Davis and the politics-as-usual crowd that have run my home state into the ground. I'm willing to watch and see what he does. What I know is that if he can earn my vote in 2006 it'll be because he's put enough things straight to see improvements on the horizon.
Job one, in my book, is getting this Driver's License thing OFF the state's books! Or, as Hans und Franz would say, "Get this girly-man law out of my sight. Legislators will put down barbells and prepare for manly government NOW!" At least we have a governor who can do the accent better than Dana Carvey. That's gotta be a plus!
TIS