INTERSTATE 5 is not the road to Damascus. But don’t tell that to Gray Davis. He wants Californians to believe he’s their St. Paul–a convert who shouldn’t be recalled because he’s seen the light. The biblical analogy is irresistible. Since he came to the realization that he was in the fight of his political life, Davis finally admits that he once sinned: yes, too slow to react to the state’s electricity crisis; yes, too out of touch with the citizenry; but still entirely deserving of a second chance.

And he’s been anything but laid back in trying to connect with the laity.