[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Mary Lyon

Pardon my cackling. I'm savoring my win.

The man from whom the highest American honor imaginable was stolen at the end of 2000 has now been awarded the highest honor the world community has to offer. And. I. Am. Loving. It.

Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize is richly-deserved. By all rights he should be accepting it in Oslo at the end of this year as a magnificent bookend near the conclusion of his second term as the forty-third President of the United States, at the opposite end of his triumph over George W. Bush seven years ago. Perhaps he wouldn't have had the time to develop public awareness about the crisis of global warming if he'd had the kind of load on his shoulders that any competent president has to carry. Or maybe, with the clout, luster, and bully-pulpit of the White House at his command, he could have put that much more “oomph” into this cause. We would at least have been much farther along toward solving this crisis after almost seven years. Who can say? Nevertheless, this latest and most magnificent accolade is all the sweeter because it's OUR win, as well.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank Pecarich
Retired Soil Scientist

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

Theodore Roosevelt coined the phrase "the bully pulpit" to describe the platform that the U.S. Presidency afforded him to speak and be listened to by the folks that matter. He also advised on diplomacy to "Speak softly, but carry a big stick."

Just exactly how Arnold Schwarzenegger will play his role and use the powers of persuasion he has to get at least one more Republican state senator to vote for the California state budget so that it can pass and the other business of the state can be attended to, may be the coming attraction of the week. We've had a bit of a preview with the Governor himself writing an op ed piece, his Director of Finance (former staffer to the Senate Republican caucus!), Mike Genest,writing an article aimed at one of the holdouts in a paper in his district and also using the Govenor's weekly radio spot to highlight how the budget represents Republican values.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

There's only one way the state budget is going to pass anytime soon: Governor Schwarzenegger needs to muster all of his celebrity power in the next few days and camp out in the districts of Republican State Senators who refuse to support the bipartisan budget plan passed by the Assembly and supported by Senate Democrats and one bold Senate Republican.
 
No more tough-worded but empty statements. No more cordial meetings with schnapps and strudel. No more Mr. Nice Guy with the GOP Caucus.
 
It's time Schwarzenegger to use the bully pulpit. Time to target the one or two Republican votes needed to pass the budget. Time to tap the tools pulpit that only a Governor has, as well as the celebrity only this governor has.
 
Figure it this way: Senate Republicans already have gotten the Governor to agree to make $700 million in additional cuts on his own. And that won't be easy. Democrats will howl, and the poor are likely to take the hits the hardest. That won't do much for Arnold's popularity numbers as he tries to eek out legislative victories on health care, redistricting, and water.