Another major issue in the campaign is jobs; California has an unemployment rate of more than 12 percent. Brown says green is the way to go, and he's promoting solar and other forms of clean energy. That, he says, will stimulate growth and provide employment. Whitman says her real world experience is in job creation. President Obama's fiscal policies don't seem to get much play in this debate -- at least in California, which has the 8th-largest economy in the world.

And a further point of disagreement is immigration. Focus on that intensified last week when it was revealed that Whitman -- who has advocated tough enforcement of immigration laws -- employed an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper for nine years. While the tea party has been active in the immigration debate, it appears that this dust-up is fairly specific. Brown accuses Whitman of hypocrisy; Whitman accuses Brown of exploiting the issue for political gain. Quite possibly, the whole dust-up could ease over the next month.