Strange Bedfellows

Arnold the Governator has picked his transition team, and it's certainly unusual. There will be 65 people from such diverse viewpoints as Mayor Willie Brown, the former King of the Assembly (I'm not kidding about that), Bill Simon Jr, Susan Estrich, and Rep. David Dreier, a well-connected Republican with close ties to the Bush administration:

Today, he characterized the transition team that he will head as widely varied, made up of people who are both "very liberal and very conservative."

"I will tell you this will be a somewhat unusual group," Dreier said. "The reason I'm so convinced we can have a diverse group is the strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He's in a position where he will get a wide range of recommendations from people throughout the state and from around the country."

Arnold obviously wants to project an inclusive, healing image for his new administration, and I'm sure Willie Brown is on board to help reach out to the heavily Democratic Legislature. Willie -- who is so well-known in California that you only need to use his first name -- ran the place for many years and is a very, very slick political operator. He doesn't make too many mistakes, and if he's truly on board with Arnold, his help will prove invaluable. I don't know how far you can trust him, but Willie may be eyeing Boxer's Senate seat in 2004 and a solid centrist effort here could help.

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