"With any mortal political candidate, any one of these things would be enough to bring him down," said Garry South, a longtime Davis adviser.

"There is no constituency for a centrist," said Garry South, a longtime aide to Governor Davis.

"He may think he's out of the woods, but there's a bunch of trees still in his path," said Garry South, Governor Davis's chief political strategist.

"If the Republicans are going to retain the House in 2002, they have to play here," said Garry South, Mr. Davis's top political adviser.

"It takes an immense amount of money to run for governor of this nation-state," said Garry South, Mr. Davis's senior political adviser.

"Here is my prediction," said Garry South, a Democratic strategist who was Mr. Davis's top campaign adviser.

"Top of the list: global warming," said Garry South, a longtime Democratic strategist in California.

"He is king of the hill out here," Garry South, a Davis adviser, said of Mr. Clinton.

"Voters know that Arnold has a penchant for saying things he shouldn't say," said Garry South, a Democratic political consultant.

Davis later said "It is entirely possible I would not have been elected governor without the strategic brilliance of Garry South."