For all their campaign fireworks, neither man is known for his personality. Davis, like Wilson, has a talent for relentlessly sticking to the message--one that was on display Friday, when he joined dozens of other politicians to celebrate the opening of the $2.4-billion Alameda Corridor rail line. "The old saying that success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan has never been more true than it is today," Davis said in his speech. At a news appearance a few minutes later, Davis virtually repeated the speech.
The cautious centrist persona of Davis and Wilson--and to a lesser extent that of the man who preceded them in the governor's office, George Deukmejian--is the key to electoral success in massive California, where candidates rely almost entirely on paid advertising to sway voters rather than personal contact, Cain said.
