Money has always been crucial in California politics. As far back as the mid-1960s, the legendary Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh called it “the mother’s milk” of his profession.

So-called reformers have suggested plenty of big steps to change or improve California’s ballot initiative process, which now lets almost any person, company or interest group willing to put up $1 million or so place anything it likes on the statewide ballot.

Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown will spend a lot of time this fall blasting each other for flip-flops, alleged lying and lack of specificity. There will be talk about illegal immigration, how to balance the state budget and what to do about greenhouse gases and climate change.

In a two-person political contest, voters only occasionally get the chance to judge candidates on their personal qualities of character. These rare chances can come when politicians are suddenly confronted by unexpected, unscripted crises of their own creation.
br/>

For more than seven months, Meg Whitman, the Republican nominee for governor, has berated Democratic rival Jerry Brown for not telling Californians exactly what measures he would pursue to pull this state out of its financial malaise.

For many years, one justification for giving generous pensions and other benefits to public employees was that their pay was below what most of them could get in the private sector. Rich pensions were seen as a recruiting tool, one way to get top people into government and keep them there.

It’s almost as if the Board of Regents that runs the University of California can't wait to fire a warning shot across the figurative bow of Gov. Schwarzenegger, the state Legislature and the candidates now running for those positions.

Any voters worried about not having meaningful choices in the fall election can now rest easy: Rarely have there been as many contrasts in California's top-of-the-ticket races for governor and U.S. senator as this year.

Now we know for sure: California voters are fed up with the status quo in Sacramento and want state government fixed. They want an end to the ideological gridlock that has long afflicted the Legislature and they want state lawmakers who are not beholden to extremist elements of either political party.