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Recall is on It began with his daily tofu shake with fresh berries for breakfast, and a little treadmill work and weight training to get the blood flowing. There was his usual turkey sandwich -- no cheese -- and steamed broccoli for lunch. In between, he worked the phones with legislative leaders in Sacramento to try to end the budget stalemate. During an afternoon photo opportunity at a San Francisco child care center, he removed his pinstriped coat and sang "This Land Is Your Land" -- and gestured stiffly -- with schoolchildren. And then Davis took off his gloves, doing what his political operatives have done for months: Rip the Republican congressman funding his recall effort, as he promised to fight "like a Bengal tiger" for his job. Davis made his enemy out to be GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of San Diego County, who has spent more than $1.2 million of his own money to fund the recall effort and plans to run for governor. Citing the estimated $30 million to $35 million that a special recall election would cost taxpayers, Davis accused Issa of financing the election "so he doesn't have to give up his congressional seat." "Well, I'm sorry Mr. Issa," Davis said. "When people run for governor, they normally go in the front door, not the back door." Earlier Wednesday during his weekly radio appearance on KGO-AM, Davis said Issa "is against a woman's right to choose, wants to drill offshore and does not believe in gun control." On CNN's "Inside Politics," he called the recall effort a "hostile takeover by the right." Throughout the day, Davis outlined his likely campaign strategy: Calling a special election was wasteful when the state has a $38 billion budget deficit; and the recall would be a choice between what he called his progressive agenda and a conservative one. Davis said he was unafraid of going before voters again, even if the election is held less than a year since he won re-election last November. "One of my greatest strengths is people have underestimated me since I was born," Davis said during his stop at the Yerba Buena Gardens Child Development Center in San Francisco. "Every time they say I'm roadkill, I continue to win. "You know, I wasn't thrilled about serving my country in Vietnam in '68, '69, but I did it. It was my duty and I'm proud I did it. I'm not thrilled about this. It's not a lot of fun. But I don't shirk from a fight. I've been through fights before." Standing at the governor's side, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said he wasn't worried about polls like the Field Poll released last week, which said 51 percent of likely voters wanted to dump Davis. "Believe me, you could poll all day on me, and you'd find that the voters would say there's a problem," the mayor said. "And then, when I'd run, I would just beat the crap out of anyone. That's what Davis will do based on performance." Brown said Davis shouldn't try to change his style. "You can't make Davis into a hip-hop rap artist and get him elected," he said. After his appearance in San Francisco, Davis flew to Los Angeles, where he spent the night in his private home. A comfortable end to an undoubtedly uncomfortable day.
E-mail Joe Garofoli at jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com.
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