"Attorney General Sunbeam"

Ed Morrissey has some thoughts on California’s attorney general-elect–Jerry Brown, who’s now on his third or fourth E-ticket ride on the California political merry-go-round:

Note that of all the priorities for law-enforcement facing California, Brown selects global warming as the most pressing. I guess issues like gang warfare, insurance fraud, and other crimes that cost Californians their lives and millions of dollars each year come in a distant second to ecopolicy. Californians might have gained the false impression that they elected an Attorney General instead of an environmental lobbyist.

Actually, it looks like they elected two Attorneys General. It’s not often that the new boss introduces himself in his first official communication to the staff by essentially informing him that his spouse will be checking on them. Brown certainly can choose his own staff, and Anne sounds qualified for the job — but it’s never a good idea to have the boss’ wife in the chain of command, at least not for the working environment of the staff.

All in all, it looks like an auspicious start of Brown’s tenure, at least for pundits, if not Californians. Instead of Governor Moonbeam, my native state elected Attorney General Sunbeam.

Of course, the outgoing A.G. is no picnic, either. The fascinating thing about California politics is how it positions Governor Schwarzenegger as the sane, rational, moderate, thoughtful member of the bunch–despite having some of the same obsessions as the incoming A.G.