LOS ANGELES (AP) For Gov. Gray Davis, the final stop Tuesday
of his two-and-a-half month campaign to keep his job was the
downtown Los Angeles hotel where he celebrated his election as
California's governor.
Five years later, Davis was returning to the Biltmore Hotel as
the least popular figure in modern California political history and
the target of an unprecedented bid to oust him from office just a
year into his second term.
Where crowds had swarmed in previous years, there was silence.
In the hotel's Crystal Room, where the governor was expected to
address the crowd later Tuesday night, reporters outnumbered Davis
supporters.
``I've been at a lot of functions at the Biltmore where
everybody is upbeat but not tonight,'' said Paul Bechley of the
Laborers' Union.
Davis was having dinner with his mother, wife and two family
members, said Peter Ragone, a spokesman for the governor.
Even if their boss wasn't ready to concede defeat, some of his
loyal supporters were.
``Being a Democrat, we've had a lot of successful nights here,''
said Bob Mulholland, state Democratic party spokesman. ``This is
not one of those nights.
``As the governor said, `We've had worse days in Vietnam,'
Mulholland said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)