Pete Wilson

Former Gov. Pete Wilson famously -- or infamously, depending on your politics -- raised taxes to help tame a behemoth budget deficit. I asked him recently whether, 17 years later, he had any regrets. "Sure," he replied instantly. "I regretted it at the time. I hated it. "What I hated even worse -- what I thought was even more pernicious than raising taxes -- was deficit spending. I'd just come from eight years of watching the federal government engage in deficit spending.

Hoping to find a successor to popular Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and end the decadelong shellacking that most other Republicans have suffered when running for statewide office, a group of GOP leaders and well-heeled donors Wednesday announced plans to stock a "farm team" of candidates they hope will put their party back in power. The organization includes former Gov. Pete Wilson and a crew of moderate Republican donors from Orange County.

After the Cold War ended and the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, California's aerospace-and-defense-heavy economy took a nose dive. One result was that, in 1991, Gov. Pete Wilson faced the worst budget shortfall in the state's history. The revenue picture was especially glum. What had started as a revenue gap the size of one-seventh of the state's general fund steadily grew until, by May that year, it was the equivalent of one-third of the fund.

Republicans who gathered in Anaheim on Saturday sought to translate their enthusiasm for the general election ticket -- specifically for vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin -- into gains in November. In the hotel meeting rooms where the three-day state GOP convention was underway, talk bubbled about Palin. T-shirts bearing her likeness flew off the shelves -- including one with Palin's face imposed over the classic Rosie-the-Riveter pose.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani accepted the endorsement Thursday of former California Gov. Pete Wilson, linking the Republican presidential contender with a strong supporter of Proposition 187, the 1994 ballot initiative that still echoes among California's Latino voters. The issue helped Democrats to victory in ensuing state elections. It was so volatile that then-candidate George W.

Today is For Pete's Sake Day, when you should utter the exclamation as often as possible. Marking the day in other ways, though, can be tricky, especially since Pete Wilson is no longer governor. Even Lance Dupuis, general manager at Pete's Cafe & Bar in downtown L.A., asks: "How do you celebrate a holiday like that?" Our suggestion: Rent 1974's "For Pete's Sake," starring Barbra Streisand, at right, and Michael Sarrazin.

The way former Gov. Pete Wilson sees it, the current governor hardened his attitude against Democratic lawmakers when he learned how innately partisan they really are. This shouldn't have been a big shock, that partisan politics can be very partisan. It's built into the two-party system. But that's easy to say and hard to experience, especially if you're new to the game. Even before Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for governor, Wilson was a mentor.

The quest for Latino voters intensified Wednesday as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's union opponents began airing ads on Spanish-language television in which Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa assails the governor's entire special election agenda. Another ad compares Schwarzenegger to former Gov. Pete Wilson, dredging up memories of the fights over illegal immigration that made many Latinos sour on the former Republican governor. The ad shows a photo of Wilson transforming into Schwarzenegger.

The state Constitution gives governors the power to reduce and commute sentences, and to pardon prisoners. No one on death row has received clemency since 1967. Here are recent pardons: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2003-present 3 -- Gray Davis, 1999-2003 0 -- Pete Wilson, 1991-1999 13 -- George Deukmejian, 1983-1991 328 -- Jerry Brown, 1975-1983 403 -- Ronald Reagan, 1967-1975 575

California's forgotten governor drapes his plaid-trousered legs into a chair and, with dry humor, recalls his five years in political exile. He walked the streets unnoticed, shopped at Ralphs, waited in line at the gas station, all without security. Who needs it when you're just another guy? Occasionally, he says, someone would recognize him. "I know you," they would say. "You're the anchor on Channel 7." Such was the obscure life of Pete Wilson.