When Wilson Speaks, Will History Listen?

In an event steeped in tradition and symbolism, the executive-elect stands before California’s gleaming Capitol, places one hand on a Bible and holds the other aloft to take the oath of office. The crowd applauds and settles back in hushed anticipation.

Then comes the centerpiece as the governor rises to deliver the inaugural address. It is the best opportunity he or she may ever have to move people with the sheer weight of words, to nudge the ship of state with rhetoric.

Republican Gov. Pete Wilson will have that chance today as he is sworn in for his second and final term.

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But if modern California history is any guide, Wilson’s speech probably will be forgotten by the time he delivers his State of the State message Monday. Inaugural rhetoric--the product of exhaustive research and excruciating editing--is more likely to fade quickly into some musty state archive than to be chiseled onto some grand portico or cornerstone.

In inaugural addresses, governors seek to inspire and uplift, to launch their administrations onto the high road of unity and action. They appeal to the best in people--even the political foes humiliated by the governor so recently.

In reality, modern gubernatorial inaugural addresses have left California with a sparse legacy of memorable exhortations.

The phrase most often quoted, even today, is Ronald Reagan’s pledge in 1967 to “squeeze and cut and trim” state government. For years afterward, Reagan’s words were routinely misquoted as “cut, squeeze and trim.” As for any value as prophecy, state government was far fatter when Reagan left office.

Reagan was followed by Democrat Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., who casually opened his address in the Assembly chamber by promising to spare his listeners a “formalistic” speech.

“I just want to tell you what’s on my mind,” Brown said. He concluded his talk seven minutes later, stunning the audience and panicking television stations that had set aside a full half-hour for their live broadcasts of the speech.

Off to San Francisco and Los Angeles to hold similar events, another break from tradition, Brown left the Capitol in a state garage-issue blue Plymouth sedan rather than the customary black limousine.

The Plymouth, not the words, was the message of Brownian austerity to come.

Then there was 1983, and Republican George Deukmejian’s promise of a “Common Sense Society.” That never caught on like the Great Society, or even Reagan’s unmemorable Creative Society.

In 1991, there was Wilson’s pledge to forge a state education program “designed for the age of computer chips, not Mr. Chips.” The few who knew about Mr. Chips cringed. The rest stared blankly.

In an age of information overload and distrust of big government, inaugural addresses do not carry the impact of past years, political experts say. But factors are at work this year that may give Wilson an opportunity to carve a niche with his words, despite some inauspicious signs.

Wilson--not noted as an inspiring public speaker in any event--may have to deliver his address with a voice still raspy from a head cold. And for the second time, his inaugural will not be graced by the sun-splashed backdrop of the Capitol. Because of the threat of bad weather, the ceremony has been moved into the local convention center.

Political consultant Ken Khachigian, a former presidential and gubernatorial speech crafter, noted that Wilson took office four years ago with a slim victory margin and little claim to a mandate. Wilson returns today buoyed by a 1.3-million vote cushion over Democratic nominee Kathleen Brown.

“He has an opportunity to say, ‘Do I really want to make some big changes? If so, this is my chance.’ Rarely is the money in the bank big-time as it is now,” Khachigian said.

Mark DiCamillo, pollster and analyst for the Field Institute in San Francisco, said today offers Wilson a chance to reach a wider audience if he really is interested in contending for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996.

“He’s not only on the California stage when he makes this speech, he’ll probably also be somewhat on the national stage,” DiCamillo said.

“It’s a chance for him to make his policy positions known, his priorities for the state. They have national implications,” he said.

Wilson insists he has no presidential plans for 1996, but also acknowledges that the presidential speculation bolsters his influence in certain quarters.

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Generally, first inaugurals are loftier and more visionary than second ones. Going into his second term in 1971, Reagan delivered a far more detailed address that delved into such issues as welfare reform.

Brown’s second inaugural speech also was far more specific and nationally oriented, endorsing a national balanced budget amendment, constitutional spending limits and a tax cut.

The Times’ account called it “one of the toughest speeches advocating fiscal conservatism ever delivered by a modern California governor,” including Reagan. It seemed to observers that Brown had one eye on the presidency as he drafted the address.

When new governors, or presidents, come to office, they invariably dig through past inaugurals searching for themes or styles that might strike a chord. Brown did this, former aides recalled, and had his staff at work exploring themes for weeks. But the frantic speechwriting didn’t occur until the night before the inauguration, recalled Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, who was Brown’s chief of staff.

In the end, Brown essentially scribbled most of his own speech in the final hours.

Certain themes naturally run through California inaugurals.

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Most prominent is the greatness of California, waiting to be fulfilled. It’s the Golden State of pioneer grit now poised on the cutting edge of society and technology. It’s the land of abundant natural resources and human talent, ready to lead the nation over the next mountain range.

Four years ago, Wilson declared that neither drought nor freeze could hinder the state.

“We will not suffer the future. We will shape it,” Wilson vowed.

In fact, Wilson’s first Administration was shocked and shaped by a succession of disasters. There was little to be done but react to them.

Now, with California seemingly in recovery, the theme of Wilson’s inaugural this year is “California: Forging America’s Future.”

Deukmejian was in a somewhat similar position when he began his second term, with the state on the road back after severe fiscal difficulties.

“In our second term, I pledge a California that continues to be the state where America’s future begins,” Deukmejian declared.

While fewer people may pay attention to inaugurals these days, the words still are studied and analyzed by the media, legislators and others in the political loop.

And even if no one else listened, the exercise would be important “because it causes whoever is delivering that speech to really think through what he stands for, what he wants to convey,” Khachigian said.

On the day he delivered his own inaugural address as lieutenant governor, Davis observed: “The real value of an inaugural is that it focuses your mind. It forces you to transition from a campaign mentality to the public’s concerns. What is said matters less than the internal discipline required in writing the speech.”

When Khachigian was asked to define a great inaugural speech, he compared it to a well-crafted newspaper editorial: “It doesn’t get too pompous or too self-indulgent or too preachy. It should be argued tightly. It should articulate values and beliefs, but do so in a way that doesn’t look like just a bunch of strung-together aphorisms.”

In Wilson’s case, brevity might help today. The event-filled inaugural ceremony begins at 11 a.m. The San Francisco Forty-Niners and Chicago Bears begin their NFL playoff game at 1 p.m.