Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign, ahead in the double digits and with 27 days to go before the election, is getting decidedly more cautious. The governor is the only statewide candidate for office who will not agree to let the San Francisco Chronicle broadcast his editorial board meeting with the paper's editors via live web streaming on the internet. Not only that: he won't even allow the hour to be taped for an audio broadcast -- or podcast.
Schwarzenegger is hitting the Chronicle on Wednesday for his ed board meeting, but his team is adamant. They say their decline of the web/audio forums has nothing to do with caution: they're coming to do an editorial board meeting -- and they have not allowed any rebroadcast of his sessions.
But their decision could reflect what many political observers call the "You Tube" phenomenon: candidates -- and more importantly, their advisers -- are simply increasingly afraid to take a risk. Especially if they're ahead.
"What his campaign has decided to do is run out the clock. If you don't do anything, you don't make mistakes; it's that simple," said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. "What will happen with a Webcast is that if any news breaks, it will be picked up by blogs and broadcasts."
But the increasing use of Webcast discussions by newspapers serves a real purpose for readers -- and voters, says editorial page editor John Diaz. It not only provides them with a rare, unfiltered view of a politician -- his words completely unedited by reporters and editors. But in an era in which the media is criticized for bias, Diaz says it also puts the paper's staff and editorial board under a very high profile microscope. The public can decide for themselves if the interview process works, and whether it -- and the subsequent coverage -- is fair, he says.
Maybe so, says Bebitch Jeffe, but the candidates increasingly take the position: "So what? Why risk it?"
She says it's one reason 2006 may be remembered as the "You Tube" election because of the increasing influence of web videos, commentators, and blogs, especially when they're used in effective "gotcha" mode.
For the record: The Chronicle editorial board has scheduled editorial endorsement sessions between the candidates of most of the down ballot offices -- and will broadcast all of them live on the web via our television partner, CBS-5.
The candidates for controller (Democrat John Chiang and Republican Tony Strickland) will debate at 2 p.m. today, and candidates for insurance commissioner (Republican Steve Poizner and Democrat Cruz Bustamante) will meet at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The candidates for Lt. Gov. (Democrat John Garamendi and Republican Tom McClintock), will go one-on-one Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.
Only the race for state treasurer is missing -- because GOP candidate Claude Parrish has refused to debate his Democratic opponent, Bill Lockyer.
The gubernatorial candidates, Schwarzenegger and Democrat Phil Angelides, agreed to one debate (though Angelides says he'd do more), and that was held last Saturday night in Sacramento. But Angelides, who appears before the Chronicle ed board next Monday, has tentatively agreed to a live Webcast, which means voters will be able to see it on CBS-5.
