If narcissism isn’t California’s leading export, it should be. We have a surplus of it in government.

Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered his annual State of the State address on Tuesday night, but not from the Assembly chamber where there once was a co-equal branch of government. Instead, Newsom gave the speech in an auditorium near the state Capitol, standing at a lectern in front of a telegenic blue-drape-and-flags background.

The stage-managed affair began with introductory praise from legislative leaders and the lieutenant governor. Newsom began his speech by reflecting on the importance of “civility and compromise,” and then proceeded to denounce those who disagree with his priorities as “agents of a national anger machine fueling division, weaponizing grievance.” He warned of “authoritarian and illiberal impulses” by those who are “promoting ‘otherness’” and “exploiting the ‘anger of the anxious.’”

Civility is apparently defined by the governor as cheerfulness, or at least silence, in the face of the state’s third year of one-man rule. The ongoing state of emergency has removed what little remained of checks and balances in the one-party-dominated California government.

The governor’s approval rating has fallen below 50% overall and is worse on specific issues such as homelessness and crime. Newsom has struggled to persuade Californians that he has answers to the state’s many problems, and he seems to have settled on a strategy of denying that the problems exist, or blaming them on various enemies.

In the face of skyrocketing gas prices, Newsom made a vague promise to “put money back in the pockets of Californians,” while defending his policy of sharply limiting oil drilling. “Daily life still demands too much fossil fuel,” he complained.

Newsom said California’s “nation-leading climate investments — $38 billion — will ensure that other innovations will surely follow.”

Maybe so, but in the meantime, California has spent $38 billion on these policies and is currently a national leader in electricity imports, energy prices, unemployment and poverty.

Along with doubling down on wishful green energy policies, Newsom doubled down on his permanent pandemic emergency. His “SMARTER” plan, he said, is “the nation’s first blueprint to stay ahead of future variants and seasonal surges.”

For Newsom, it’s more important to be “first” and “nation-leading” than to show results.

Consider his record on homelessness. The state has thrown $17 billion at the problem, which is worse than ever. Yet Newsom attempted to spin this as an accomplishment. “Just a few years ago,” he said, “California lacked any comprehensive strategy.”

There was more. He praised his administration for “funding local law enforcement and prosecutors” and “investing hundreds of millions in new programs to tackle the root causes of crime.”

And there was less. No mention of building desperately needed water storage projects that were long ago approved by voters.

For all its grandiosity, the speech had an oddly bitter undertone. Newsom took frequent shots at Texas and Florida, criticizing their economic policies, their education policies and their pandemic response. He rattled off long lists of new entitlement programs, repeatedly declaring, “That’s the California Way.”

With the high cost of living, high taxes and a permanent state of emergency, a lot of Californians are looking for The Way Out.