40 Days And Counting ...

With 40 days to go until the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth prepared to make his first pitch to voters, while Arnold Schwarzenegger finally revealed his position on abortion and other social issues after weeks of criticism for not telling voters where he stands.

Ueberroth, who has stayed out of the recall election spotlight and traveled the state to meet with newspaper editorial boards, was to hold the first of his town hall style meetings, letting San Diego voters ask him questions about issues in the unique campaign.

The forum follows the clearest policy statements to date by Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican on the ballot to replace Gov. Gray Davis.

The former bodybuilder said Wednesday that he favors legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, some gun control and protecting a woman's right to abortion, but is against gay marriage and granting drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.

The latter issue is a volatile one in the Central Valley, the nation's most productive farmland and home to many ethnic groups and migrants who struggle to get to work in the fields.

Schwarzenegger - who supported Proposition 187 in 1994 which sought to deny many services to illegal immigrants - said undocumented immigrants already in the country should stay here, but he said it was a federal issue. A spokesman said he wasn't proposing an amnesty program.

"Should we have them to stay here, which I think is the right way to do," he said. "But how do you then include them in our society, how do you make it official, how do you make it legal, all of those kinds of things?"

Like Schwarzenegger, Ueberroth is a moderate Republican and a millionaire and both have given heavily to their own campaigns and are raising similar sums of money from wealthy friends. Fund-raising and campaign expenditure reports, due Thursday at the secretary of state's office, were expected to offer a better glimpse of the financial health of the campaigns of the 135 candidates on the ballot to replace Davis.

The governor continued to do the business of the state Wednesday, signing a financial privacy bill that gives California consumers the right to block banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions from sharing much of their personal information.

Asked whether he thought Schwarzenegger would make a good governor, Davis said he met the minimal age and state resident qualifications.

"Sometimes people want a little more," Davis said. "Like a little experience."

Ueberroth, a businessman and political newcomer, is relying on his reputation as the man who made the 1984 Olympics a success, earning Time magazine's Man of the Year title. Playing off the success of the 19-year-old Olympic games, he's calling his forum, "Carry the torch for Peter."

While he has laid out an economic plan to help patch the state's projected $8 billion deficit next year, he has yet to connect with voters.

A recent Los Angeles Times poll showed Ueberroth trailing fellow Republicans Schwarzenegger and state Sen. Tom McClintock. The poll showed Ueberroth was viewed mostly in a positive light, though he wasn't well known. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat, led the poll.

Schwarzenegger's foray Thursday into Fresno, Bustamante's former home, follows three days on the talk radio circuit and a continued assault on the lieutenant governor. The conservative-leaning Central Valley is also the only place targeted for TV commercials by McClintock, a conservative Republican.

Responding to Schwarzenegger's remarks, McClintock said he opposes abortion and supports the rights of gun owners. He also said he got the impression Schwarzenegger was becoming more conservative as the campaign moved along.

"I've been in the public arena for 20 years. Positions I've taken have not changed in 20 years," McClintock said. "I am pro-life; I believe in the right of people to self-defense. It's enshrined in the Second Amendment. And again, these are positions that people can count on."

During his third radio appearance of the day, Schwarzenegger was asked about a racy 1977 magazine interview in which he discussed life in the gym and his sexual exploits. Schwarzenegger responded that it was not the type of interview he would give today.

"I never lived my life to be a politician. I never lived my life to be the governor of California," he told Sacramento station KFBK Wednesday night. "Obviously, I've made statements that were ludicrous and crazy and outrageous and all those things, because that's the way I always was. I was always that way, because otherwise I wouldn't have done the things that I did in my career, including the body building and the show business and all those things."

Davis, Bustamante and McClintock were all scheduled Thursday to address the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, representing 57 tribal governments. The group will not endorse a candidate, but its members have become an influential political force capable of boosting campaign coffers.