Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie

I've been following this whole business of California attempting to recall the election of Governor Gray Davis, and I have to admit I'm a bit fuzzy on the whole concept of a recall. It seems to me that a recall process should exist for really extraordinary examples of incompetence, or perhaps even outright negligence. But it also seems to me that if an elected official takes office and then converts everything into a giant, bungled mess, well, that's what the next election is for.

Of course, I'm not well-versed at all in California politics, so I'm not sure if Davis is really that bad or not, or really what the deal is here. But I have noted that I have yet to encounter a single person who really likes this guy. Of course Republicans can't stand him, but every Democrat I've seen write about Davis just kind-of grumblingly supports the guy. It's amazing how high up people can rise even when they have the handicap of not being liked.