Head-On Brawling From Left and Center

With the brutal Democratic primary for governor drawing to a close Tuesday, rivals Phil Angelides and Steve Westly are battling over the same question that has convulsed the party nationwide: Would a liberal or a moderate stand the best chance in the fall?

Withering character attacks have obscured the ideological contrasts between Angelides, the state treasurer, and Westly, the controller. But each has taken a distinct approach to building voter support, with Angelides relying heavily on liberals and Westly aiming more for moderates.

The same split has long marked party contests for Congress and the White House. This year, some moderate Democrats in Congress who voted for the use of force in Iraq face antiwar primary challengers who are appealing to the party's liberal base.

In the race for governor, the main battlefield has been taxes. Angelides calls for "multimillionaires and big corporations" to pay more. Westly vows tough fiscal management to minimize the need to raise taxes. In fact, both Democrats support some tax hikes, but Angelides has called for more, and he alone has made them a central part of his campaign platform.

The debate is also a matter of tone. Angelides takes a combative approach to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, President Bush and other Republicans, while Westly calls bipartisanship the key to getting things done in Sacramento.

On Sunday in San Francisco, Angelides told parishioners at Glide Memorial Church that he would make California "a progressive beacon of hope," where the well-to-do would sacrifice more for public schools and healthcare. An outspoken critic of Bush's tax cuts, he said California must reverse "this assault from the right that says if we just give more to the rich, somehow we all are enriched."

Westly, speaking in a KABC-TV Channel 7 interview Sunday, called his opponent's focus on tax increases "the wrong approach." He also pledged to "bring both sides of the aisle together to find common-sense solutions" to California's problems.

Polls suggest both candidates are making advances with their respective constituencies: Angelides has pulled ahead among liberals likely to vote in the primary, and Westly holds an edge among moderates.

But to beat Schwarzenegger, the winner of the Democratic nomination must reach for support among independents and Republicans, a task that some analysts see as more difficult for Angelides given his liberal positioning in the primary.