EDITORIAL ACTING GUBERNATORIAL DAVIS AND SCHWARZENEGGER GO OUT SEEKING ADVICE.

THE official tally of candidates for the Oct. 7 recall is 135, but really, there are 136, including one major candidate whose name will appear on the ballot, just not with the rest of the group - Gov. Gray Davis.

And while the horde of other candidates, some credible, some cranks, try to fight their way into the spotlight, Davis and his chief rival, Arnold Schwarzenegger, are far and away the two most likely to occupy the governor's office come Oct. 8.

So how are the two top contenders proceeding, a mere 53 days before the big event?

They're seeking advice, and the difference is telling.

For his part, Schwarzenegger has sought the counsel of billionaire Warren Buffett, his newly announced ``senior financial and economic adviser.''

Buffett, the world's second-richest man, carries an undeniable credibility about economic and financial issues, which makes him a valued asset for Schwarzenegger, who has taken some hits in recent days for his unwillingness to discuss specifics.

Now Schwarzenegger has an answer for those who demand to see his plan for how to solve California's financial problems: I'm working on it, and I have one of the best and brightest in the business helping me.

If nothing else, it buys him another week.

The hiring also bolsters Schwarzenegger's cause because Buffett is a Democrat, thus giving the superstar Republican candidate bipartisan credentials. And it doesn't help Davis that a widely admired member of his own party has given up on him.

The episode might have voters asking why Davis hasn't sought the expertise of Buffett or someone like him. When Davis had to hire his administration's top budget adviser last year, he chose former state Sen. Steve Peace - architect of California's infamous energy-deregulation program.

But that's ancient history. Now Davis gets advice from another source: former President Bill Clinton.

According to published reports, Clinton has been advising Davis on a political strategy to thwart recall. The ex-president's advice? Act gubernatorial, stay above the fray and keep the focus of the campaign on the recall process, not Davis' record.

It's not the advice we'd give. There's something to be said for candor, and if Davis would talk honestly about his record, his mistakes, how he's learned from them and how he plans to govern over the next few years, we suspect he could do quite a bit to improve his prospects.

That said, Clinton's political genius, especially when it comes to rebounding from trying circumstances, is unquestioned. There's no faulting Davis for seeking the advice of his party's sharpest political mind.

But we fault him for not following it.

The first of Clinton's suggestions, after all, was to act gubernatorial, and in a time of economic and financial crisis, we'd expect a governor to take a greater interest in turning his state around than in saving his political career.

Yet since signing a bogus budget last month, Davis has done precious little to address the major problems confronting California, most notably the deficit and workers' compensation.

For all the criticism Schwarzenegger gets about his lack of a plan, it's not as though Davis has offered one, either. And at least the Terminator has had the good sense to put in a call to Warren Buffett.

So far, anyway, of the two major candidates, it's Schwarzenegger who's acting gubernatorial.