A delay in the California recall election will be good for Democrats or Republicans. It will favor Gov. Gray Davis, Sen. Tom McClintock or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor might resign before the vote and if there is an election he will be ousted from office, or he might beat the recall.

A big voter turnout will help the Democrats, or a smaller turnout will help the GOP, or maybe there are million newly registered and energized voters who will make the final decision.

And the recall is democracy in action, or it is a "weird" statement by the people that the state's political system is broken, or is it stark evidence that California needs a parliamentary system.

All of this came from a two-hour panel discussion between three current or former political science professors and a former television news director that took place Wednesday on the Chico State University campus.

Bruce Lang, former KHSL TV news director, along with Professor Charles Turner and retired Professors Jim Gregg and Charles Price, gathered before a crowd of about 200 - mostly university students - to exchange views of the first ever recall of a California governor.

Despite the recent 9th Circuit Court ruling that has thrown into doubt whether the recall will take place on Oct. 7, all of the panelists said they would generally discuss it as if it would come off on schedule.

Lang said the recall is not just about Gov. Davis.

"The recall is the public's imperfect and very weird way of trying to give a message to politicians," said Lang.

He said he didn't expect the politicians to get the message.

Lang claimed the people "know in their gut" the political system as it now stands is "broken" and the electorate wants a shift to a parliamentary system, such as the British government, to allow many factions to have access to political power "even though it is messy."

Gregg, citing conflicting polls produced by the Los Angeles Times and the Field Poll, suggested he sees a shift that seems to suggest Davis is gaining in his battle to avoid being recalled.

He also said there are polls that suggest conservative recall candidate Sen. McClintock, R-Northridge, is gaining on Schwarzenegger, the apparent GOP front-runner.

He said gauging how voters will respond to the whole issue is difficult.

Gregg claimed the Democrats are "highly motivated and angry" over what he said they see as a Republican effort to subvert the election of Davis in mid-term.

On the other side, Gregg charged Republicans have been the target of a quarter-century of "government bashing" by "conservatives whose whole appeal is to the self-interest side of people."

Turner, the only one of the three academics still teaching, said Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Schwarzenegger, are the only true "contenders" for the governor's job out of the 135 people on the ballot.

Bustamante, according to the professor, decided to run for the governor's job because "it was a good opportunity, and why wait three years."

For Schwarzenegger the recall could be the only real chance to get a shot at the governor's mansion, according to the professor.

Turner claimed that Schwarzenegger's views on abortion and homosexual rights, among others, would doom him to failure in a regular GOP primary election, where a more conservative individual, like McClintock, would have greater appeal.

In terms of winning and losing, Turner predicted life could be very difficult for Bustamante in political terms, if Davis should survive the recall.

Turner predicted Schwarzenegger could do well in the upcoming debate with the other major candidates, by simply not making a major faux pas. If he escapes miscue-free, Turner said he believed, the press may anoint Schwarzenegger as the debate winner.

Price, who has done extensive research and writing on the California recall system, said Davis' recall is exactly what was envisioned by the people who framed the law in 1911. He also said that many previous governors, including Ronald Reagan, have been the target of recall petition drives, but Davis is the first to face the vote. Turner said Davis has found himself in the path of what the professor called a political "perfect storm."

Republicans, according to Price, were outraged when Davis funneled donations to Bill Simon, when Simon was running against Richard Riordan in the last GOP primary. They felt Davis helped get Simon nominated because he was a weaker Republican candidate than Riordan would have been.

Davis's fund-raising techniques have offended even some Democrats, Price said.

The professor also observed, Davis "did not react adroitly with the power crisis," was not forthcoming about the state's budget picture during the last election, and all of that came together at the same time the state and national economies tanked, worsening an already dismal budget picture.

While saying he will vote no on the recall and for Bustamante as a fall-back position, Price was not dismayed by the recall.

"I see a healthy vitality in the recall," said Price.

The flood of candidates from veteran politicians, to a "smokers advocate, a smut peddler and a porn queen," among others, pleases Price.

"I think that's wonderful," he said.

He also was pleased by polls he said suggest a larger-than-usual voter turnout.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote, Price said he is persuaded it will have a wide impact.

"All future governors, and other office holders, will learn they have to relate to the public," predicted the professor.

Price said nationwide, 15 states including California allow recalls of state officers,

He said whether Davis is ousted or not, the recall will "send up shockwaves through the other 14 states" that have recall for statewide officers.

Beyond that, the fact the Davis recall got to the ballot will "popularize" recall as a tool "citizens can use against unpopular politicians."