Governor Ebenezer?

Well, I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one bothered by Governor Schwarzenegger's ongoing comparisons of himself to FDR, at the same he proposes a budget for California that would close for good the notion that the Golden State represents America's Promised Land.

George Skelton calls him on it today in his Los Angeles Times column, which includes the following:

But what's particularly outrageous about Schwarzenegger's embrace of FDR is that Roosevelt wouldn't be closing state parks, firing prison guards and wardens, shortchanging school kids and -- you can bet it all on this one -- denying benefits to the impoverished aged, blind and disabled.

Schwarzenegger's trying to talk like FDR while acting like Ebenezer Scrooge.

There's been some talk that the governor's budget represents a grand strategy on his part to pressure the legislative leaders in his party to reach the conclusion that anyone in the state with half a brain has already come to - that this conversation can't take place without an honest conversation about revenues. If that's his plan, I'll give him kudos when it comes to fruition. But I have to say that for someone who talks so much about leadership, this sure seems like a strange way to go about it.