Is It 2000 Yet?

WASHINGTON: Gray Davis and Al Gore are going to get along great. The new governor of California -- its first Democratic one in 16 years -- is a mild-mannered, nuts-and-bolts pol just like Al. He's now in charge of redistricting California after the 2000 census. And he just happens to have 52 electoral votes to throw around. "Now, whoever wins the 2000 Democratic primary gets to glom onto Davis," says TIME congressional correspondent John Dickerson, "instead of having to spend a lot of time actually campaigning in California." Not to mention that after the Democrats' surprising success Tuesday night, Gore's recent barnstorming leaves plenty of winners owing him favors.

Then again, George W. Bush is getting along with just about everybody. After getting reelected in a walk to the Texas governorship, Bush -- along with his brother Jeb, a winner in Florida -- is ready to take a new Republicanism to the national stage, the kind that women and minorities can support. "The Bushes are saying that moral issues have hurt the party," says TIME Austin bureau chief Sam Gwynne, "and they have broad enough support -- Hispanics, blacks, even Jews -- that they don't necessarily need the religious right." They got it anyway; exit polls indicated that along with everyone else, right-wing voters supported both Bushes. So the GOP may have its player -- but given what's about to happen to California, will he want to run against a stacked deck?

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