California's Leadership Vacuum

The whole fuss being made about Meg Whitman's new ad featuring Bill Clinton seems to miss the point.  Who really cares about how Jerry Brown and Bill Clinton's ego dance plays out?



It's just pure political horse race nonsense.


The interesting thing to me is that Clinton still has such sway in California.  As Joel Fox says, "Whether he intends to or not, Bill Clinton seems to find a way to intrude in California gubernatorial races."



What I don't get is why what Clinton says still has such a resonance in California.  I understand the history with him being the first Dem to win a presidential election in California in a long time, his continued popularity, yada yada yada.  But shouldn't California's leaders be the ones to, you know uh, lead us?  


So as we think about how to stop California's current spiral into dysfunction, isn't the real question worth asking: Why is there such a vacuum of political leadership?  


The epigraph above the State Supreme Court Building says "Bring me men to match my mountains."  And I simply don't think a pissing contest to re-litigate the past fits the bill.