Paulson, Congress to California: Drop Dead! (It Probably Won’t Happen.)

Hat in hand, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a pretend conservative Republican, is asking President Bush’s left-wing Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, to lend cash-strapped California $7 billion.

Hey, what’s $7 billion between friends when Congress is handing out billions, maybe trillions, in bailouts?

Bush, Paulson, and Congress should tell Schwarzenegger to take a long walk off a short pier, as President Gerald told New York City in the 1970s, but the smart money says they won’t.

California has been living beyond its means, spending every dollar it can find for years. The Golden State needs to done some belt-tightening. Now would be a good time to start.