We now know the value of charisma in California politics. It's the distance between Peter Ueberroth and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the race for governor.

The two moderate Republican candidates are preaching almost exactly the same message, in many of the same words, vowing to lead independent-minded reform administrations that would change the way things are done in Sacramento. They are even vague in the same places.

Each wants to balance the budget with no new taxes but has yet to credibly spell out how he would do so. Each wants to improve the state's business climate but hasn't offered specific proposals that would accomplish that goal. And neither is willing to commit to either keep or roll back some of the major workplace laws adopted in California in recent years, such as paid family leave or mandatory overtime for anything beyond an eight-hour day.

Yet Ueberroth, 65, a former Olympics czar and baseball commissioner, is still among the also-rans while Schwarzenegger, the 56-year-old actor, has emerged as the leading Republican challenger to Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis should voters recall him from office Oct. 7.

"I'm a businessman, I'm a leader, and I'm a problem solver," Ueberroth said in an interview at The Bee this week, his voice never threatening to depart from its single tone. "I'm not a politician. I'm not good on television. And I can't give answers in sound bites. I'm also not a doomsayer. California is in a mess. We can fix the mess, but it won't be easy."

Ueberroth says he loves "nearly impossible situations," and he often refers to his experience coordinating the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Many predicted that the games would be a disaster, but Ueberroth was credited with making them a financial and public relations success. For his work, Time Magazine named him its Man of the Year.

His high-profile endeavors since then have not been as successful. His tenure as baseball commissioner was marred by allegations that he led team owners in a conspiracy to keep down salaries, and a lawsuit filed by the players' union forced the owners to cough up a $300 million settlement because of their collusion.

Ueberroth also served as the first chairman of Rebuild LA, a private non-profit group created to help restore economic life to central Los Angeles after the 1992 riots. He left after a little more than a year amid his own frustrations and criticism of what some saw as a less than effective "top-down" effort to lure new businesses to the riot-torn area rather than nurturing existing firms.

He later led a commission appointed by former Gov. Pete Wilson to recommend new policies that would make California's job climate more receptive to business. While few of the proposals were ultimately adopted, the effort did prompt Democrats in the Legislature to form a parallel group and begin working with Wilson on a series of changes that won bipartisan support.

Now Ueberroth says he is ready to move from "consultant" -- a role he didn't like -- to head man. If elected to replace Davis, he has pledged to serve without pay and not seek re-election in 2006.

At first glance, Ueberroth seems to be an ideal candidate. Had he run for governor a year ago he might hold the office today. His credentials probably would have frightened off other Republican hopefuls in the primary, and his no-nonsense demeanor could have been enough to defeat a weakened Davis last November.

But so far in this rapid-fire campaign, Ueberroth is moving in slow motion, which is the one thing that separates him from Schwarzenegger. In presentations to the media, Ueberroth speaks slowly from a text and seems unable or unwilling to respond well to reporters' questions. And it's not just a matter of style. His ideas have not been nearly as creative as promised when he launched his campaign.

Ueberroth pledged to offer tough measures for balancing budget but has delivered mostly bromides and hard-to-believe projections, promising, for instance, to find $6 billion by giving amnesty to Californians who have evaded paying their taxes. He also has called for across-the-board cuts in spending and said he would like to renegotiate the state's labor contracts, but both of those actions already have been assumed as part of the current budget.

Ueberroth has proposed a constitutional limit on state spending, tying growth in the budget to inflation and population. But he also backs Proposition 53, a proposed measure that would set aside a portion of new revenues for the construction of public works projects. And he says he supports Proposition 98, the existing constitutional provision that requires school spending to rise in concert with personal income and population growth. The three policies combined would create an irreconcilable conflict, squeezing everything else out of the budget and putting school spending on a track, over time, to gobble up most of the general fund budget.

Arnold Schwarzenegger might have the charm to win over leadership-hungry voters while glossing over these sorts of details. Peter Ueberroth clearly does not.