We appreciate the governor's apology for putting the state through last year's special election, and his assumption of a more moderate political posture. His stated intention to begin the process of repaying the billions of dollars owed to public education is likewise a good sign. This year's education proposal at least provides the basis for the dialogue that was so sorely lacking last year.

However, remaking his image as the Pat Brown of the twenty first century needs to be taken with two large grains of salt. First, Pat Brown led the process of rebuilding California's infrastructure with appropriate levels of taxation for the wealthy and corporations in addition to bond measures. It took both to fuel the infrastructure of that era. The governor claims we can rebuild California without raising taxes. The math doesn't work, unless we believe our children should pay tomorrow for what we are unwilling to pay for today.

Second, remaking an image isn't the same as firmly facing the needs of the state. The governor promises to pass a minimum wage law. He vetoed similar measures last year, but with a crucial difference: those measures would have indexed minimum wage increases to offset inflationary factors. Other states have done this. This is the proper way to go. The purchasing power of his new proposal would immediately begin to erode the instant he signs it.

We are pleased to see the Governor's apparent desire to try to work in a bipartisan manner. This year's state of the state is a breath of fresh air compared to last year's vitriolic attacks on public employees. But our fear is that he is giving us policy that's long on grand gestures and short on fiscal reality. A moderate makeover is not the same as a vision that will genuinely improve California's public education system or prepare us for the future.