It’s a presidential election little different from others in the California of the past quarter of a century. We don’t know the exact numbers for where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will end up, but here’s an educated guess: Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, will wind up near or north of 60% of the nation-state’s vote. It’s where Obama twice finished in his two presidential runs – against stronger Republican opposition.

Public policy at its very core is functionally using government action (or inaction) to alter how people behave, in some form or another.  This doesn’t necessarily means brute government force, i.e. bans, mandates, or government’s monopoly over violence, as using market mechanisms also strive to alter behavior.  Behavioral changes can be as simple as stopping at red lights to ensure orderly vehicle movement or as complex as altering the incentives to alleviate the symptoms or causes for poverty.

The latest Hoover Institution/Lane Center Golden State Poll reveals the state of the presidential and US Senate races in California. A discussion about how changing generational sensibilities are affecting initiative battles over marijuana legalization, repealing the death penalty, and extending a tax on the wealthiest Californians.

The past few days witnessed California’s governor agonizing over a matter of life and death. It was Pat Brown, not Jerry. And the dilemma was whether to grant a reprieve to Caryl Chessman, an inmate facing execution in 1960.