California Power Crisis May Dim Davis's Bright Political Prospects
For two charmed years, California Gov. Gray Davis has been riding the political equivalent of a perfect wave: a resounding vote into office, huge budget surpluses, a friendly legislature, rivals in disarray and glowing public reviews.</br></br>Now, just as he is emerging as one of the nation's most prominent Democratic leaders, Davis is caught in a political riptide jeopardizing his career.</br></br>The lights in the nation's richest and most populous state are barely on. Its biggest utility companies are broke and buried in debt. The Internet giants of Silicon Valley are nervous. Consumer groups are livid. Even Democratic lawmakers are questioning some of the governor's moves. And President Bush, whose campaign flopped here last fall, has no plans to come to the state's rescue.</br></br>There is no easy escape from California's energy meltdown and little time to resolve the crisis before it gets worse.</br></br>Desperate to end almost daily brushes with blackouts and silence his skeptics, Davis just patched together a $10 billion plan to keep power flowing into the state. Next, he has to find a way to keep utilities that have more than 25 million customers solvent.