Dan Weintraub's review of a recent Bustamante speech is withering:

With just a few words tucked in the middle of his speech, Bustamante demonstrated that despite the image, despite the build-up, despite the resume, his knowledge of state government and its problems is woefully thin.

Sounding no more informed than a cranky letter writer to the local paper, Bustamante badly mischaracterized the roots of California?s budget crisis, falsely claiming that the electricity purchases the state made on behalf of the utilities in 2001 erased the budget surplus and forced the state to cut vital programs. While that's a widely held perception among the general public, it is completely untrue, and any second-year staffer in the Legislature could tell you so.

But it also is a dig by Cruz on Davis, since Davis championed the electricity cost subsidy. Then again, I doubt either of them even understand it was a subsidy. Cruz has also said he would increase taxes in a weak economy and put price controls on gasoline ? which is specially processed in California for our air rules. No refineries have been built in ages, and there are few oil pipelines ? because people don?t LIKE refineries and oil pipelines near their home. The Arizona shortage has caused our prices to jump because some of our limited supply is going there. Price controls ? below the natural price ? always means rationing. I remember waiting in line for gas, it wasn?t fun. And I doubt Cruz is going to push for more pipelines, more refineries, and more oil production. If he and Davis ever took Econ 1A, they slept through it.

If he and Davis ever took Econ 1A, they slept through it.

That would be in perfect keeping with their party affiliation...