Lopez: Schwarzenegger could be a tough actor to follow

I hope I'm not going soft, but I found myself thinking last week that we could do worse than Arnold. And unless the next governor learns from his mistakes, we probably will.

When Gov. Schwarzenegger said he would uphold the state Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage and would not endorse a November ballot initiative to overturn it, it was a reminder that he hasn't turned out to be quite the blowhard his early antics suggested he'd be. I've actually started getting a little wistful about losing the guy.

But don't take my word for it. Listen to the assessment of Schwarzenegger by Bill Carrick, a Democratic consultant who has worked for President Clinton, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and former treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides.

"His politics are the hybrid politics of fiscal conservatism -- mind the store financially, keep taxes down, create a state that's more business friendly -- combined with more progressive social positions. He's obviously pro-choice, he's obviously very gay-friendly, on most issues he's pro-environment. If you were sitting around trying to draw up the perfect political position for a statewide Republican candidate, he's ideal."

I'm not saying I wouldn't change a few things about Big Boy if I could -- starting with the Hummers. But given the polarized red-blue politics in our fair state, we're unlikely to find anyone so naturally purple.

People are beginning to talk about who's likely to follow Schwarzenegger in 2010, and there are some familiar names along with some newcomers.

"I think most people would say that Jerry [Brown] is the front-runner on the Democratic side," said former Gov. Pete Wilson, who also mentioned Antonio Villaraigosa and Gavin Newsom, the mayors of Los Angeles and San Francisco, neither of whom have Brown's statewide name recognition.

And on the Republican side?

State Insurance Commissioner "Steve [Poizner] is definitely among those who have to be considered a serious candidate," said Wilson.

I like Poizner, myself, and he's loaded, which means he could finance a serious campaign.

But let's be honest here.

Republicans are trembling at the prospect of Poizner being their guy. It's nothing against the bespectacled Poizner, a smart and capable gent I find rather impressive.

But is a state that's had so many years of The Terminator really going to turn around and elect Mr. Peepers? He can't even come close to matching the star power of a grizzled Jerry Brown.

So who does that leave?

Well, there's not much heavy lumber on California's GOP bench, and some of the bigger names, like state Sen. Tom McClintock, would be more suited to statewide office if they lived someplace like Montana.

That's why party leaders are roaming the state on an elephant safari, hunting for new blood. There's lots of chatter about Meg Whitman, who made a bazillion dollars at EBay and was a Mitt Romney supporter.

"I've met her and she's quite impressive," said Wilson, who likes the Bay Area resident's smarts and remarkable success in business management.

But does she have "it"?

"I think she does have presence, but that's not just a matter of personality. It's being able to connect, and that's a little hard to judge."

Stu Spencer, a former Reagan handler, told me he doesn't know the first thing about Whitman's politics or personality.