Feinstein’s pass has us wondering … who would you pick to lead California?

February 18, 2010 | 7:30 am

Like her or not, Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a smart cookie. Smart enough to know that the last thing she needs is to become governor of the broken-down state of California.

Feinstein must be well aware that the state's mess isn't going to get fixed without redistricting so moderates have a voice, dropping term limits so legislators are in Sacramento long enough to do some honest work, and dumping the two-thirds majority vote on financial matters.

She's 76 now.

She could be 102 before those changes are made.

So that means we're likely to see currently undeclared Democrat Jerry Brown going up against Republicans Steve Poizner or Meg Whitman, the latter of whom has closed to within five points of Brown in a head-to-head battle, according to a Public Policy Institute of California survey.

In a state with a huge advantage for Democrats, would a November election really be that close?

"At this early stage, it's all about the ads," said Dan Schnur of USC's Unruh Institute of Politics.

Whitman, the former EBay chief executive, has been emptying her purse to pay for TV ads, spending tens of millions of dollars in an attempt to buy what has to be considered one of the worst jobs in the state.

If the election were today, and your options were Brown, Whitman or Poizner, who would you vote for and why?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... ornia.html