Davis Rules Out Presidential Bid in 2004

Davis previously had seemed to leave the door open to a presidential bid by avoiding a declaration that he wouldn't be a candidate in 2004.

But under friendly questioning by political commentators Pat Buchanan and Bill Press on MSNBC, Davis explicitly took his name out of contention for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Press, who served with Davis in the administration of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown during the late 1970s, noted the wide-open field for the Democratic nomination and asked the governor if he was going to run.

"No, I'm not going to run, Bill," Davis said. "I think you're just trying to make my 79-year-old mother happy."

Davis added: "I'm not running. As you can tell from our earlier discussion [about the budget], we have our hands full in California and I want to leave this state better off than I found it."

"Is that a 'never,' Pat, you think?" Press said.

That prompted Buchanan to push Davis further: "Was that a Sherman, governor?" -- a reference to the unequivocal statement by former Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman when he took his name out of consideration in a post-Civil War presidential campaign.

"That was a Sherman in 2004," Davis said.

Davis wasn't asked about his availability as a vice presidential running mate for the eventual Democratic nominee.

Just last month, a day after securing another four years as governor with a narrow victory over Republican challenger Bill Simon Jr., Davis seemed to keep his presidential options open. He responded to a question about his presidential plans by saying: "All I'm going say is I have one goal, which is to leave California a better place. I'm devoting my energies to that."

In reaching his decision not to run, Davis may have been influenced by the unhappy experiences of two contemporaries: Brown and former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, both of whom failed in attempts to run for president while serving as California governor.

Davis may also have been influenced by his sagging support among California voters. In a Times election exit poll, 60% of voters said they had an unfavorable impression of Davis and 61% disapproved of his job performance.