A Bad-Weather Flight Plan : Wilson’s State of State address offers ideas but not inspiration

Perhaps even Demosthenes, the legendary Athenian orator, would have been hard-pressed to make much of the occasion. The state of the state of California is recessed, if not depressed. And what amount of rhetoric can compensate for a $5.2-billion budget deficit? But it’s also true that although Gov. Pete Wilson, in his State of the State address to the Legislature, was impressively in command of all the facts and figures--as always--something besides $5.2 billion seemed to be missing.

Wilson ably unveiled good new programs, such as “CheckUp,” a promising children’s health innovation, and a host of helpful-sounding state construction projects. And he drummed anew on his valid theme of investing to prevent problems before they occur--thus his promise of more state aid for schools. Too bad, though, that he choose to couch that pledge so ominously: Spiraling welfare costs, he said, could undermine state support for education. That prompted Wilson to mention anew his support for a misguided November ballot initiative to cut welfare. The Times agrees on the need for welfare reform but also believes that a process of legislative negotiation is preferable to the meat-ax of a ballot measure.

But for all Wilson’s sense of technical mastery, there was something of a lost moment. Speeches can be overrated events, but they are, nevertheless, opportunities to persuade and inspire. No one is ever going to confuse the oratory of Gov. Pete Wilson with that of Ronald Reagan (from whom Wilson borrowed some Wednesday). But it is fair to suggest that to survive what lies ahead, California is going to need something that even money can’t buy. The governor can explain budgetary intricacies as well as anyone. But getting a whole big state back on its feet will take something more: very exceptional leadership and vision. California needs the income of that, too.