Leadership role

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER’S decisive victory at the polls Tuesday puts to rest any doubt that California voters knew what they were doing three years ago when they ousted Gray Davis and installed the former action-movie star. Californians have seen the governor at his arrogant worst, forcing on voters last year’s failed special election, and at his cooperative best, working this year with Democrats to rebuild the state, protect the environment and repair the economy. Californians are neither star-struck nor disenchanted. They’re confident. They have a leader.

So what does Schwarzenegger’s election mean? For one thing, it’s a vote of confidence in bipartisanship -- and a request for more of it. The GOP governor was smart to see that his outreach to Democrats paid off in productivity as well as approval. It’s similarly a vote for moderation -- not a rest-on-your-laurels kind of moderation but a ratification of an activist, innovative kind, exemplified by the prescription drug plan and the new law limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Approval of bond measures for levees, highways, ports and housing is another voter thumbs-up for Schwarzenegger, showing enthusiasm for his agenda and confidence in the state’s future. Unfinished business that requires bipartisan solutions includes fixing the redistricting process.

The governor’s reelection also confirms Californians’ attraction to divided government. This predilection to put members of one party in charge of the Legislature and the other in the governor’s office may stem from a desire to enhance the Capitol’s checks and balances. Whatever the reason, Californians have noted the recent failures of one-party rule and have chosen a different path.

The election means something as well for Democrats, who put forward a slate of experienced but unappealing candidates who mostly sought to swap jobs with each other and had mixed results. The party’s next generation of candidates would be foolish to repeat that mistake.

In the next four years, Schwarzenegger can set an agenda that includes more than roads, bridges and levees. He could claim his victory as a mandate for a broader legacy: Ending the practice of rampant fundraising from special interests during the bill-signing season or the freebies that his staff members rake in. Relieving prison overcrowding with comprehensive corrections and probation reform. Fixing the broken budget without pushing the state into endless debt.

Schwarzenegger correctly saw that voters want him and the Legislature to sweat the details. Now, as a political veteran, he knows how to do it -- and that cranky voters will step in if he fails.