The Washington Post has an interesting profile of California Lt. Governor Bustamante. Some details:

He got his college degree this year.

He supports the death penalty.

He backed farmers against environmentalists.

While his entire career has been in politics, he was a staffer for most of it.

He wasn't the choice candidate of the Democratic party in California:

Although prominent Democrats were warned by state and national party officials and California labor leaders not to put their names forward as replacement candidates, Bustamante surprised many and took the plunge. "He was nobody's choice as party standard-bearer," said one Democratic strategist in California.

Bustamante said his strategy is, first and foremost, to urge voters to reject a Davis recall, but then to punch his name as a replacement. After a month of stiff resistance, elected Democrats and the state's powerful unions have come around to support his "no on recall, yes on Bustamante" campaign. The state Democratic Party will likely endorse him soon.

Bustamante's relationship with Gray Davis is described as "frosty."

In his favor, from our viewpoint:

His strong opposition to Proposition 187 which denied government services to illegal immigrants. It passed but was later invalidated by the courts.

Questionable: The large sums of money he receives from groups that run Indian casinos. We're not enamored of Bustamante's justification:

Bustamante defends himself by saying he is not some millionaire like Schwarzenegger who can fund his own race.

Where does that reasoning stop? Is there any group he would not accept money from? Here's more on the loophole that allows Bustamante to accept the money.(scroll to the middle of the article.)

In our view, there's only one clear, rational option for Californians on October 7: Vote no to the recall.

Update: The Mercury News editorializes that Bustamente needs to learn Econ 101.

``Gasoline -- and the business of selling gasoline -- is part of interstate commerce that belongs to Congress to regulate, if at all,'' Anthony Sabino, a law professor in New York told the Los Angeles Times. ``With all due respect to Mr. Bustamante, he is either very ignorant of the law, or he's getting incredibly bad advice from his advisers, or it's a publicity stunt.''

Do we have to pick just one?

Ouch.