Duke Helfand of the Los Angeles Times offers a hagiography of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in "Mayor to reap spoils of election victories".

He has a vision "of an eco-friendly metropolis with less traffic, more affordable housing, new trees and perhaps a subway to the sea." And, Aztlan! Except, that's not mentioned.

It acknowledges one of the reasons AV might have avoided endorsing Phil Angelides until late:

Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory on the same ballot means that California's top job will be vacant in four years, clearing a path for Villaraigosa if he elects to go that route.

We're informed that he's a "comer", in the sense of being a "Latino version of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, an African American." And, while no details are provided on what they discussed, it mentions Tony's dinner in Washington DC with Felipe Calderon.

Then, after his various other miraculous activities are described, he says - "with a grin" that he's "very, very close to both [Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid]". Then, it looks like someone is looking for a job:

"He's like one of the star minor league players that you're expecting to be an all-star," said Chris Lehane, a Democratic consultant who served as former Vice President Al Gore's press secretary. "Once you make that jump, you have to hit major league pitching, but the expectation is that he will."

Once Tony hits the big leagues - if he ever does - he's going to be outside the sphere of influence of the Los Angeles Times and "reporters" like Duke Helfand. One of the 110MPH sliders Tony's going to get is the fact that he's a former campus radical and former leader of the racial separatist group MEChA. And, while he has somewhat renounced that group, that renunciation is belied by his continual radical statements and actions.