RECALL OFFERS two shades of Gray. On Saturday, at an anti-recall rally outside Los Angeles, the California governor reportedly told a supporter, “You shouldn’t be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state.” The next day, Davis told reporters he was “kidding around in a private conservation.” All of this, only hours after Davis stood before of a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Los Angeles, introducing himself to Latino voters as “Gris” (Spanish for “Gray”, pronounced “grease”). Grease is the word: the closer recall gets, the more Davis’s Wessonality shines through. On the outside, the governor claims to be humbled by the recall. But every so often, his inner demons surface. In last Wednesday’s debate, Davis sniped that Republicans “would rather shoot their mothers than raise taxes.” Before that, there was a statewide address denouncing right-wing conspirators. Now he has problems with the way Ah-nuld says “Kal-ee-for-nee-ah.”

If only Davis were as discriminating in his official business. On Friday, the governor signed a new law enabling some 2 million illegal immigrants to obtain a California driver’s license and purchase auto insurance. It was one of the more remarkable flip-flops in recent California history–he had twice had vetoed similar legislation. “The tragedy of September 11 made it abundantly clear that the driver’s license is more than just a license to drive,” Davis wrote in last year’s veto message. “Unfortunately, a driver’s license was in the hands of terrorists who attacked America that fateful day.”