[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

In November 2002, after winning a close re-election battle against Republican Bill Simon, Gray Davis announced to Californians that the budget deficit had swelled to $35 billion. In response the state's media denounced Davis as having caused the crisis and hiding the real facts from voters. In this atmosphere the recall effort that began in early 2003 caught on like wildfire, as the deficit was blamed on Davis, instead of on Tom McClintock's tax cuts or the economic downturn.

Six years later we find ourselves in a similar place. The economy is in a downturn and state revenues are being hammered. Arnold Schwarzenegger is now warning that the deficit could be as large as $20 billion. So how does the media react?

Well, if you're the San Francisco Chronicle's Matthew Yi, you talk about how this might help the governor and his proposed budget reforms:

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]