Our favorite governor to pick on, California’s Gavin Newsom, has taken more steps toward moderation in his state. Earlier this month, Newsom declared that the homelessness problem in all the major cities of California needed to be addressed.

His plan would involve ensuring that there are no more encampments, that shelters on the streets don’t block businesses or litter sidewalks, and that vagrants are made to seek actual shelter provided by municipalities. While on the surface, this strategy looks good politically and may help some California cities clean up, it doesn’t actually address the homelessness problem.

Then on Wednesday, Newsom flip-flopped on another issue, declaring that California can’t support “free” (read: taxpayer-funded) healthcare for illegal aliens in the state. Illegals now have to pay $100 a month for healthcare, which is still a bargain compared to what the average American shells out for insurance or other medical care. The governor said the reason for this move was that California couldn’t financially support the no-cost-to-illegals service due to rising tariffs — i.e., blame President Donald Trump.

Newsom is a slick politician. He is very targeted in his phony swing to the middle politically. His latest acts of moderation affect only those who either can’t vote (illegal aliens) or are highly unlikely to vote (vagrants).

Don’t get me wrong — California being pulled away from the cliffs of insanity is good, but when one considers the source, it should give all of us pause.

Newsom is clearly pandering with the hope of becoming the Democrat presidential nominee in 2028. His past record of far-left radicalism and driving the Golden State into the ground, combined with the repudiation of the classism-obsessed, woke Democrat Party in November, has persuaded him to attempt to rebrand. He has deigned to talk to conservatives, declared boys in girls’ sports as “unfair,” and even backtracked on his antagonism toward oil refineries in his state. Now he is addressing the homelessness problem and even demanding that illegal aliens pay for some of their own healthcare.

Newsom has some big political events on which to keep his eyes focused. The first is who will succeed him in next year’s governor’s race. Failed 2024 Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris is a possibility. The second is the Los Angeles-hosted Olympic Games in 2028. Even though he won’t be governor at that point, California has already long been preparing for it — much of it on his watch. And finally, there’s the presidential election right after the Games.

Newsom is not alone in this pandering toward moderation. Have you seen Pete Buttigieg lately? Recently, at a town hall for veterans in Iowa, he stated: “I think it’s really important to be in communities like this, to be in red states, to be in rural areas. It’s so important for Democrats to have a vocabulary to be able to reach out, and you can’t fashion that vocabulary online or only talking to people who already agree with you.” Buttigieg has also changed his look and is now sporting a short beard.

Buttigieg is hoping everyone forgets what an abysmal job he did as transportation secretary under Joe Biden, as well as the fact that his father was a well-known Marxist.

For the Democrats, the 2028 primary season is unofficially already underway. Between Newsom and Buttigieg and (maybe) Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the field is pretty pitiful.