Today's the 4th, and it marked the unofficial beginning of the 2006 campaign for governor. Democratic Treasurer Phil Angelides held a news conference to kick off a TV advertising campaign that urges viewers to send a message to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "No more debt, no more deception."

Angelides insisted this was not the start of his gubernatorial campaign. "This has everything to do with the budget," he said. "Discussion of the governor's race is for another day."

While many may look at Angelides' most recent attack on Schwarzenegger as a transparent campaign tactic, you do have to give him credit for being consistent. He has railed against the new governor's borrowing strategy and avoidance of making tough budget decisions almost from the day Schwarzenegger took office. Given the amount of debt the state has run up since then, Angelides is playing a useful role.

It's beginning to appear that Angelides may be the only Democrat willing to step forward to challenge Schwarzenegger next year. The persistent word among Democratic insiders is that Attorney General Bill Lockyer just isn't genuinely interested. Another reason Lockyer may be leaning against a run for governor is that Democratic loyalists haven't forgiven him for boasting that he voted for Schwarzenegger in the recall. Largely because of that comment, at least one early poll of Democrats shows that Angelides would likely beat Lockyer even if it did become a two-person race.