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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- What promised to be the usual summer doldrums of a California election year is now anything but: The top gubernatorial contenders met in the first of five one-on-one debates and the sparks flew during the 60-minute confrontation. GOP hopeful Dan Lungren was the clear victor, but rival Gray Davis can take comfort in one thing -- he has four more shots to make good.

Both politicians are political pros with years of elective experience under their belts. So it was all the more surprising to see the sleek and well-tailored Davis, usually cautious and unflappable, do so poorly. He appeared on the defensive most of the evening, as Lungren successfully probed for weaknesses in Davis' record on the death penalty and trade with Mexico, among other issues.

Lungren's record as state attorney general is a tempting target for criticism -- such as his refusal to join the states' lawsuit against the tobacco industry until the last minute, or his department's inability to punish wrongdoing at the troubled Corcoran State Prison -- but Davis was never able to exploit it.

The debate in San Diego, except for a few minor moments such as when Davis declared that Lungren's anti-abortion position meant that the Republican candidate didn't trust women to make decisions about their own bodies, was dominated by Lungren.

Despite the media's love of the horse-race nature of politics, the larger issue of the debate is not who won, however, but what effect it will have on the electorate.

In the latest statewide poll, a Mason-Dixon survey released last week, Davis was ahead by nine percentage points. Early polls are notoriously poor predictors of an election's final outcome, and when considering the survey's margin of error, the lead certainly is less than dramatic.

But the general indication of the poll is that Davis carries into the general election at least some of the momentum he generated during the primary.

The question now is whether his performance in the first poll will slow that momentum.

Conversely, Lungren, who has been the object of much concern by GOP strategists, got a much-needed boost. Not only is he perceived as much more of an effective candidate, his strong debate showing will undoubtedly improve his fund-raising efforts.

Remarkably, the debate was broadcast live statewide and early indications are that the show did reasonably well in the ratings, contradicting the accepted wisdom about California that politics is all but ignored by the populace, who would rather watch soap operas and freeway chases. But will that interest remain as the rest of the debate schedule gets under way?

The next debate is August 18 in Fresno -- at first blush an unlikely venue for a dramatic confrontation. And yet, Davis knows he must make a strong showing there or be labeled as ineffectual by a political media that delights in making snap judgments. That means sparks are likely to fly again, and this time it may be Davis who makes them.

Thank you for sharing the wake-up call for the state budget on Monday morning [July 27]! You really made my day!

You are so right: the people of California have given up on the State Fathers and their political games that are being played on [us] citizens.

Because we have allowed this state to become a dictating and corrupt place to be, it is as if [when] you tread upstream to alert the public or try to make changes, you are stopped. I personally lost my public school teaching job after ten years, and my son, who is innocent, is on death row. This was a way to try to shut me up; I've been told to my face by the political gurus that I will probably end up at the bottom of a new construction foundation.

"They" do not want the truth to be known, and "they" do not care -- as long as "they" get what "they" want, let the rest go to hell, including the State.

-Donna Larsen, Fresno

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