Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is capable of deciding that he wants to run to become the leader of the free world, but the California governor can’t take a stand on a question as simple as whether the University of California system ought to heed the warning from 1,200 professors that they “now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields.”

When asked about the open letter from the UC professors, who include five Nobel laureates and seven of the system’s nine mathematics chairs, Newsom shrugged, smiled, and equivocated.