Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa decided to end his prospective 2010 bid for governor of California with some flair, revealing his decision in a nationally televised interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. But the opt-out by the Democratic mayor of the nation's second most-populous city -- and California's largest -- raises a question: Why would anybody WANT to govern California at this especially difficult point in its history?

The state's long-booming economy was already slowing when the national recession sent it into a tailspin. This has escalated a massive state budget shortfall, which in turn has pitted the overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature against Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Governator -- as "Terminator" movie star Schwarzenegger once dubbed himself -- has discovered during his relatively short political career that it's lot easier to save the world as a cinematic action hero than it is to break legislative gridlock in Sacramento.