Recall California's Recall

Californians, known for pushing edges of envelopes, are this time pushing too far.

At their convention this weekend, state Republicans are expected to vote overwhelmingly for an effort to remove Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. A recall drive would require 900,000 signatures from registered voters. If they're successful, an election could take place as early as this fall, and cost an estimated $25 million.

But wait. Didn't Californians just have an election? In November, Mr. Davis handily beat his GOP opponent, Bill Simon Jr., 47 to 42 percent.

The issues then were not substantially different from today. Polls showed that voters doubted Davis's leadership in November, especially his handling of California's energy crisis. And the state's financial woes were no secret. Yet voters still reelected him.

With his approval ratings scraping below 30 percent and a huge budget deficit of $35 billion, Davis has his work cut out for him. He deserves the time he was given by voters to work out these challenges - hard choices not unlike those facing other governors. One expense Davis can do without is that of an extraneous election.