POLITICS FOR EVERYONE RECALL: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD.

Byline: MARIEL GARZA

SOMETHING amazing happened this summer, something I never thought I'd see again in my lifetime. On many evening television newscasts in Los Angeles, the lead story was not about a gang shooting or a car chase or even which celebrity landed in court that day.

Nope. Instead it was politics - state politics - that led the lineup.

Previously, anything that seemed even distantly related to capitol happenings had to compete near the end of the TV news broadcasts with stories such as how to get the best deal on a French manicure or skyrocketing attendance at clown school.

The historic recall election this year has done something no MTV campaign could do: brought California politics back into vogue. And while many folks are hollering about how the potential recall of Gov. Gray Davis has made a mockery of our political system, they're missing the bigger picture. It's true the recall race has brought out the very worst of our democracy, but it's also brought out what's best about the governing system we love so much, and that is that everyone can join the fun.

While the good things that have emerged from the recall race, so far, outweigh the bad, there's certainly plenty of both:

The Good

--No matter who wins, the recall should shake up politicians and remind them how easy it is to get tossed out if they start acting up. It's also energizing for citizens to know that, with a small investment of $3,500 and the signatures of 64 of their friends and relatives, they can receive free publicity for their porn videos, Web sites or latest film.

--Regular folks are talking about the election and state politics at cafes, classrooms and in Internet chat sites, discussing important recall issues such as ``How does Arnold find a tie big enough for his neck?'' I am personally grateful that my 17-year-old, high-school graduate sister now knows who the governor is - at least for a few more weeks.

--The excitement about the recall has caused a surge in people registering to vote. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office is averaging 20,000 voter registrations a week, up 150 percent from the same period before last year's election.

People had evidently become so bored with politics that, countywide, only about 10 percent of residents voted in last year's gubernatorial race. That means even if, say, porn star Mary Carey gets 15 percent of the vote in the recall election (it could happen), more actual people may vote for her than voted for Davis last year.

--Full employment for journalists and pundits. With the economy so bad, it's nice that some people have guaranteed work through October. Summer is also a historically slow time for news, resulting in exposes on pothole repair and hairstyle trends of celebrity pets.

--It puts a spotlight on the issues. Used to be that whenever I dropped the words ``workers' compensation crisis'' into polite conversation, eyes would glaze over. Now A-list celebrities are flinging the term about, and people are paying attention.

--With 135 candidates to choose from, there's someone for everyone.

--Circuses, even media ones, are fun.

The Bad

--People in Florida, home of the hanging chads and voters who don't know who they voted for, are laughing at us.

--It is now common knowledge that anyone with A) $2 million, B) too much time on their hands and C) a vendetta, can hijack an election.

--Voter pandering. State legislators pushed through some hasty bills that Davis had previously vetoed, knowing he would sign them to win back some voters he had previously P.O.'ed. Most obvious is the Indian Secret Sacred Sites bill, which would disallow development on sacred Indian sites anywhere in the state, but keep the location of the sites a secret from potential developers.

--Millions in public funds spent by counties and the state to hold the special election. The very essence of the recall is that bad spending got us $38 billion in the hole, no thanks to the governor. The recall election will cost upward of $66 million, contributing to our financial hurt, no thanks to the Republican recall effort.

--The very real possibility that the next California governor will be picked by a fraction of Californians. Even George W. Bush got more than that in the 2000 presidential election.

--Unending jokes about the Terminator saying ``Hasta la Vista'' to various candidates during the ``Total Recall'' race.

But, in all seriousness, of all the stinkers this special election might throw off, most of them will probably only be short-term. Challenges to the last-minute legislation have already begun and polls are showing that the recall bankrollers are not going to be rewarded for their behavior.

In the end, the lasting effect is that more Californians are excited and involved in their governance than in a long time. And that's a good thing.

Plus, if this recall election is successful, we can start using it to dump other things we collectively don't like. For example, we could next recall the state's dated and cryptic motto (``Eureka!'' Greek for ``I have found it!'') and replace it with a more modern one.

Here's my suggestion: ``Democracy - Use it or lose it.''

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(color) A positive side of the recall is getting young people interested in politics, such as Eric Kosyk, left, and Oakley Clark, who wave competing banners Monday in Sacramento.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press