"The governor of this state backed himself in a corner with a no-new-tax pledge."

The anti-Bush spin: It's not surprising that the governors are backing one of their own.

The governors of Baja California and Sonora, another border state, are backing two more terminals, but those plans are still embryonic.

But despite enormous pressure from automakers, the governor has fully backed the measure and threatened to sue the federal government for the exemption California needs to move ahead.

Mr. Silver said the governor was backing out of the process at perhaps its toughest time.

The governor laughed and even backed away from the coffee cup.

Even Pennsylvania's Republican governor Gifford Pinchot backed Cox's march.

Twice so far the governor had ridden down to the water and twice backed away again.

More than 55% of voters rejected the so-called "personhood" measure, even after the outgoing governor and both the Republican and Democratic candidates backed it.

There has been revived interest in the Lovejoy line in 2008 and the governor backed it in June.