Step inside the Wayback Machine and journey back to November 5, 1974. Americans were bitterly divided over President Gerald Ford's decision to pardon Richard M. Nixon for any crimes that he may have been committed in the White House reflected the political divide among Americans. Sports scribes still buzzed over Muhammad Ali's eighth-round knockout of heavyweight champion George Foreman during the fabled "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire. Moviegoers eagerly awaited the release of Godfather II with Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and newcomer Robert DeNiro.
In California, voters elected 36 year-old Jerry Brown to succeed Ronald Reagan in the governor's mansion. Brown would achieve rock-star status no doubt in part to his liaison with 1970s pop diva Linda Ronstadt. Chicago columnist Mike Royko suggested that Brown attracted to "moonbeam vote" - a constituency of young, idealistic and unconventional types. The moniker "Governor Moonbeam" followed.
After his 1978 reelection Brown embarked upon a run at the White House and challenged standing President Jimmy Carter. Brown touted solar power, mandatory national service for American youth and universal health care. Brown's bid for the Presidency proved a footnote to the slug fest in the Democratic primary between Carter and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Ironically, Reagan -- the man who defeated Brown's father Pat in the 1966 California gubernatorial race -- was elected President. Brown sat out the 1982 gubernatorial election to run for the United States Senate. He lost to former San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson.
What does an ex-politico do when away turned away from the spotlight? Brown traveled to Japan to study Buddhism. A former seminarian, Brown journeyed to Calcutta, India where he ministered to patients treated at Mother Teresa's hospice. Unable to stay away from politics, Brown made another run for the White House in 1992. Touting both a flat, 13-percent income tax and closing loopholes for corporations, Brown received endorsements from the New York Times, The New Republic and Forbes. However, the former California governor could not overcome the buzz saw of Bill Clinton's political machine.
Pundits stuck the proverbial fork in Brown's political career. Brown hosted a radio program, and served two terms as Oakland mayor. Brown was elected Attorney General of California in 2006. Then in March of this year Brown announced his improbable candidacy for governor. The man once dubbed "Governor Moonbeam" defeated former eBay Chief Executive Board (CEO) Meg Whitman and her grotesquely funded campaign that included $141.5 million of Whitman's own money. Brown became the oldest individual to win a gubernatorial contest in California.
Is Jerry Brown "Joe Namath Cool"? Beyond the Newsweek and People magazine covers, Linda Ronstadt, and being an early proponent of alternative energy sources? you ask. Brown commissioned Santa Monica artist Don Bachardy to paint the official gubernatorial portrait. Bachardy created what the Los Angeles Times characterized as a "quasi-abstract visual interpretation" so reviled that the portrait was "banished to a third floor landing of the state Capitol building."
It's 2010. The nation is bitterly divided into "blue" and "red" states after the November election. Movie veteran DeNiro will star in the December release of Little Fockers - the much-anticipated sequel to 2004's Meet the Fockers. The San Francisco Giants captured their first Bay-Area, World Series title. How times have changed... or have they?
Welcome back, Governor.
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