Simon Should Say . . .(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)

Business: Here's some news for California voters: Enron et al. didn't cause all your problems, and the public sector isn't your only friend.

Gray Davis may not be a good governor, but he's a lucky one. Having bungled an epic energy crisis and spent California deep into the hole, Davis should be slinking off to private life soon.

But he's been blessed with some fat targets, such as the energy traders at Enron, to blame for his state's woes. And his opponent in the fall election, Republican Bill Simon, is little known, underfunded and socially conservative in a liberal state.

Simon has another problem that's closely tied to these times -- and is being exploited by Davis. In the new culture of envy emerging in this country, rich businessmen like Simon are out of fashion.

Post-bubble, post-Enron and post-WorldCom, U.S. business is struggling with credibility issues it hasn't faced in many years. And the media are doing their part to trash private wealth. When someone is labeled a millionaire, as is often the case with Simon, the tone typically is unfriendly.

The new climate is perfect for politicians like Davis, who would like nothing better than to have people believe that California's problems are all due to greedy businesses, particularly in energy, rather than bungling public officials. It's much less friendly to people such as Simon, whose financial experience might be just what the state needs at times like this.

Predictably, Davis has made an issue out of Simon's ...