The first rule of Jerry Brown's campaign for governor is that he doesn't talk about his campaign for governor.

So far, this is working. If the 2010 election for governor of California were held this year, Brown would win. Easy. As of this writing, he leads in all the polls, both in the Democratic primary (against San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose campaign is leaking staff and money) and in possible general-election matchups (against former Rep. Tom Campbell, a Republican who is probably too liberal to be nominated by his party, and former tech executives Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, who lack charisma and deep political experience).

All of which makes Jerry Brown California's governor in waiting. Emphasis on the waiting.