Follow the Money

Al Checchi, corporate wizard, transplanted Californian, Democrat, gave a speech here Tuesday. Word by word, cliche by cliche, he faithfully, methodically followed a TelePrompTer through a half-hour address to 250 quietly polite members of the California Commonwealth Club. He spoke in a soft, singsong voice of “real world experience” and “new ideas” and a resolve to “truly prepare California for the 21st century.”

As an orator, Checchi will make no one forget John F. Kennedy, though he does have some of JFK’s signature hand gestures down pat. Far too many of his applause lines were punctuated with only the clatter of 250 forks and knives, hard at work on a chicken-esque entree. And yet, to be fair, Checchi was at least as good as Michael Huffington, and it is to the dearly departed Huff--departed in the political sense--that Checchi inevitably will be compared.

Huffington, of course, was the Texan who four years ago sought to invest his fortune in the dream of becoming California’s next U.S. senator. Only a late-hour nanny scandal derailed him. Checchi’s pockets go even deeper, having accumulated something like $550 million through his labors on behalf of Marriott Corp., the Bass brothers, Disney and Northwest Airlines. He came out to California a dozen years ago, intent on carving a place for himself in political life.

“I’ll tell you this,” he told a Times reporter back then, “I’m not going to go in to go from low to high. I have no interest in that. It’s not title, it’s a question of substance.”

It took awhile, but it appears Checchi finally has settled on a suitable entry-level position.

The purpose of his speech Tuesday was to announce his candidacy for governor.

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Once again, California finds itself on the cutting edge of political science. It has become a cradle for a new kind of politician: the high-minded novice, rolling in dough. Beyond Huffington and now Checchi, this also was the state that, through some jarring polls, gave early credibility to Ross Perot, another multimillionaire with a campaign consultant and a dream.

Now admittedly, the concept of rich politicians is not new. The Roosevelts, for example, hardly were paupers, but they at least built government resumes before grabbing for big jobs. By contrast, these new money politicians seem to revel in what they don’t know about government. They position themselves as nascent Huey Longs, as insurgent outsiders and champions of the people, determined to shake down the entrenched power brokers. Yes, with enough money, even you, Mr. Millionaire, can become a Populist.

The lesson of Huffington’s near victory was that personal wealth does not bother many voters. There is a certain logic to this. The independently wealthy are as independent as they are wealthy. Put another way, a Gov. Checchi wouldn’t need to rent out bedrooms in the governor’s mansion as a way to raise campaign funds. Maybe a $550-million man has his price--but who could afford it?

Indeed, Checchi’s speech contained more than a few examples of the political freedom gained by self-financed campaigns. He offered direct criticism of public school teachers, dangerous ground for a conventional Democrat politician. He also raised questions about the war-on-drugs mentality, and took on the gunners, promising “major and specific gun control” proposals. Clearly this was not a candidate worried about dialing for dollars.

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And so where is the downside to these millionaire candidates? Well, perhaps it’s in never knowing exactly how the fortunes were made. The boom-boom ‘80s that served Checchi well, for example, often had a dirty downside for those on the short end of the clever deals. Greed was good, as the saying went, but only for the winners. Full disclosure of his financial past seems a reasonable request, especially in light of the implied suggestion that enormous fiscal success is a measure of his potential prowess as governor.

And perhaps the popular notion of running government like a business, while it makes for a terrific sound bite, is not as practical as it seems. See Orange County’s wonderful adventure on Wall Street for an obvious example. A government of the people, by the people, and for profit . . . it just does not quite ring true.

“You don’t have to be a politician to succeed in government,” Checchi said here Tuesday.

No, and you don’t have to be well-grounded in government to succeed in politics.

Either way, however, it raises a question: What value, if any, should be placed on experience in the nuts and bolts of government? Is there any benefit in requiring the rich to work their way up the government ranks, like some common pol? Over the next 405 days, Al Checchi will be spending many millions of his own money to provide his answer to that question.