Arnold On the Up

InstantReplay was unimpressed with Arnold Schwarzenegger when he decided to run in California gubernatorial recall. By now, he's changed our minds with hard-driving reforms and a form of leadership that is politically intelligent without being politically correct. He's proven that he is no tool of his party, and he has the ear of Californians, who are willing to legislate from the ballot box the measures he asks for.

Of the four reforms the Governator is currently pushing, his fight for fair redistricting is closest to InstantReplay's hearts. Gerrymandering has been around for a long while (it's named for a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Bay Stater Elbridge Gerry). What California did in 2001, however, was empowered by incredibly detailed technology that allowed them to make the safest legislative districts outside of Syria. Forcing the legislature to stand in real elections, where the people pick their leaders rather than vice versa, could be the biggest victory for American democracy since the enfranchisement of blacks.