Toss up. Presented here in its entirety is an Aug. 20 AP story about Scott Davis dropping out of his race to replace the other Davis, Gray Davis, as governor of California.

If by some magic means -- bribery, maybe -- all the other 130-plus remaining candidates could have been persuaded to drop out and leave the field to the two Davis, some people might be hard pressed to choose between the two, based slowly on the comparative moral worth. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that everything said about them is true, which is never a safe bet.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The list of candidates running to replace Gov. Gray Davis if he is recalled is shrinking by one.

Palo Alto resident Scott Winfield Davis announced Tuesday that he is dropping out of the race because of murder charges in Atlanta.

Seven years ago, Davis was charged with the murder of his estranged wife's lover and setting the man's home and car on fire. The charges were dropped for lack of evidence. But Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Paul Howard told the San Jose Mercury News Davis remains the chief suspect.

Davis said he's innocent. He says he feels Howard's statement is unfair. But he said he will drop out of the race because he fears coverage of his campaign would focus on the slaying, not on the issues.

Davis was charged with shooting Atlanta businessman David Coffin Jr. in the head in December 1996. Prosecutors also believe Davis set fire to Coffin's home and Porsche. Tuesday, Howard said Davis has not been cleared of the homicide and the investigation remains active.

Editors note: A Google search coupling "candidate" and "murder suspect' turned up more than 78,000 hits -- with Scott Davis not even very high up in the ranking -- which is a 'nuff-said comment on the state of politics today.