Which Jerry Brown is Running for Governor?

Dan Walters, veteran California political reporter, asks that question:

Brown was the state's youngest-ever governor when elected in 1974, just 36, but is no longer a wunderkind. He will turn 72 next month and, if elected in November, will be the state's oldest-ever chief executive.

He would have us believe that he's now a battle-hardened political veteran who can make state government functional, "someone with insider's knowledge but an outsider's mind."

But as he defines himself, his Republican foe, mostly likely former eBay boss Meg Whitman but possibly Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, will be mining his vast record for ammunition to redefine him.

Which of Brown's many public personas, one must wonder, will be engraved in the consciousness of voters, many of whom have no personal recollections of Brown's chaotic – albeit highly entertaining – reign as governor three decades ago?

Will it be the environmental visionary who championed alternative energy and mass transportation and slowed highway construction? The liberal who opposed the death penalty, but signed so many tough-on-crime bills that prisons became overcrowded? Or the re-election-seeking politician who opposed Proposition 13 but then embraced it, calling himself a "born-again tax cutter" and slashing state taxes?

These are only a few of the nuggets from his governorship. His post-gubernatorial career, especially as a left-wing presidential candidate and iconoclastic radio talker, is an equally rich environment for opposition researchers. And then there's the Brown family's semi-secret financial ties to the military dictatorship of Indonesia, a book-length saga unto itself.

Either Whitman or Poizner has the vast financial resources to create and peddle a negative image of Brown – and Whitman fired two such blasts Tuesday as his announcement webcast hit the ether.

There were several younger and possibly more viable candidates who could have run (like the mayors of San Francisco and Los Angeles) but for whatever reason bailed out of the race early. Unfortunately, most California voters aren't old enough to remember Gov. Moonbeam, so he may get a pass from them on some of the crazy stuff he did in the 70's.

The only thing that has saved California from complete destruction during the last few years has been a Republican governor. Although Arnold often leaned to the left, he also vetoed a lot of crazy things passed by our wacky left legislature. Putting Jerry Brown back in the governor's office would almost guarantee the complete fiscal collapse of the state and would make this state so unfriendly to business that every one that can will flee to friendlier states. A Dem governor combined with the current legislature is a recipe for disaster.

Meg Whitman is not as conservative as some might like, but she's actually run a successful company and knows a thing or two about cost controls and making tough decisions. She's got to be better than any Democrat.