OPINION:
Is there anything about California Gov. Gavin Newsom that’s real: his stylized hair, his exaggerated hand gestures?
The governor’s PAC spent $1.5 million for copies of his book, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,” as donor premiums. This inflates sales, putting the title on The New York Times bestseller list, which is usually a sign of a book’s popularity.
The autobiography was gathering dust on bookstore shelves, so the governor felt he had to do something to gin up sales.
A review in The New Republic, ordinarily sympathetic to Democratic politicians, observes: “Perhaps the most interesting thing about ‘Young Man in a Hurry’ is that it never quite answers a basic question: What is the actual raison d’etre of Newsom’s political career? You close the book with a nagging suspicion that he isn’t entirely persuaded by his own pitch.”
The raison d’etre is the pursuit of power.
Like most other political autobiographies, the pitch seems to be this: “You can trust me with power. I’m a regular guy, the kind you’d like to grab a beer with after work.”
He is the kind of regular guy who sleeps with his best friend’s wife, has dinner with his buddies at a swanky eatery called the French Laundry (meals start at $395 per person) during the COVID-19 lockdown, lives in a $9.1 million Malibu mansion and whose whole life has been a steady climb up the political ladder.
He has gone from being a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to mayor of San Francisco to lieutenant governor of California, and now governor.
Mr. Newsom has perfected the art of distraction.
Anything to take voters’ minds off his abysmal record: the Pacific Palisades fire (almost 7,000 homes and businesses destroyed), the burgeoning homeless population (24% of the nation’s total), rising taxes (the highest marginal income tax rate in the nation), a gargantuan deficit ($18 billion in 2025-2026) and resident flight. Los Angeles County alone lost 54,000 in the past year.
Even the governor’s celebrated charm seems unctuous. “Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way across the floor.”
In a YouGov survey, Mr. Newsom was the second favorite for the 2028 presidential nomination among Democratic voters, right behind former Vice President Kamala Harris.
In weighing the strengths and weaknesses of potential candidates, Mr. Newsom’s inauthenticity — reflected in his great book caper — will have an impact in the long run.
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