SANTA ANA, CALIF. ? It was a week of daunting decisions, the kind that separate the men and women from the boys and girls.

“It’s the most difficult decision I ever made in my entire life,” Arnold Schwarzenegger told Jay Leno — and the nation — as he announced Wednesday he would run for governor of California. “Except for the one in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.”

A joke. One hopes.

Would-be candidates unveiled their platforms — and in some cases, quite a bit more.

“My goal is to bring happiness to the streets of California,” declared porn star Mary Carey, 22, who wore a star-spangled bikini top and hot pants as she pledged that under Gov. Carey, lap dances would be tax-deductible.

For a moment there, it seemed like anyone could — and would — run for governor.

Gary Coleman, Bill Murray and Michael Jackson — not to mention Robert Dole and Edward Kennedy — all took out papers to be candidates.

Only Coleman is the celebrity or politician you think he is — and the diminutive actor who played Arnold on “Diff’rent Strokes” says he’s actually backing the bigger Arnold. Those others? Just regular Joes with well-known monikers.

From afar, California seemed a circus, drawing tut-tuts from those who believe the state has really lost it this time.

“Even by recent U.S. standards, this is an extraordinary saga,” opined The Times of London on Thursday. “California politics will provide wonderful material for American comedians for months to come.”

Mary Carey, a self-described pornographic movie actress, celebrates the acceptance of her nomination petitions as a candidate for governor of California at the Los Angeles County Hall of Records office in Norwalk, Calif. She entered the race Saturday with a now-estimated 193 other candidates.

Only in California

But it’s not just stupid crazy — it’s crazy in a good-for-you way, according to many who live in the state.

“We are crazy, and we love it,” said Michael Capaldi, chairman of the Lincoln Club, one of Orange County’s most powerful Republican groups. “This is a story that almost literally could only happen in California. It is wild, woolly and nasty direct democracy, and you know what? It’s going to get people engaged. It’s going to inspire Californians to take a serious look at politics — and we need that now.”

At the Irvine Spectrum, most people defended the drama the people of California have unleashed on Gov. Gray Davis and the powerbrokers.

“We’re just trying to fix it,” said Bob Cunanan, 24, a college student from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. “We want to get rid of this guy and get someone new to fix what the previous guy has done.”

The list of candidates grew day by day last week.

Commentator Arianna Huffington — a conservative-turned-populist — decided to run as an independent, joking that with her Greek-tinged English and the Austrian inflections of Schwarzenegger, they can wage “the battle of the accents.” She showed up when Schwarzenegger was handing in paperwork in Norwalk, Calif., on Saturday, her supporters strategically holding signs in sight of cameras focused on him. She bumped over a microphone stand on the way to shake Schwarzenegger’s hand.

Huffington almost ended up in the bizarre position of fighting her former husband for the job. Michael Huffington — a California congressman a decade ago who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate, then came out as gay and got divorced — dipped his toes in the water but in the end chose not to go against his ex.

Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt is in it — pitching himself as “a smut peddler with a heart.”

Ex-baseball commissioner and 1984 Olympics czar Peter Ueberroth has jumped in, too.

Comedian Gallagher — the guy with the big mallet and the watermelons — said he’s running and would ban loud talking on cell phones if elected.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, who dug deep into his own wallet to fund the recall drive, welcomed Schwarzenegger into the race on Wednesday — and then wept as he announced the next day that he was dropping out.

And scattered throughout the long list — more than 600 people filed paperwork expressing interest in running — were even a few old-fashioned politicians: Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante among them.

All eyes on Arnold

For now, though, the one dominating the stage is Schwarzenegger, who continues to wax large on the political horizon.

In advertising terms, that’s partly because Schwarzenegger has a big-time “personal brand” — as if he’s a product, with mass appeal.

“So far he’s a very proven brand when attached to an action film — he attracts moviegoers,” said Peter Montoya of Newport Beach, whose advertising agency helps professionals develop their own individual brand-name identities.

“The big question is, is his brand viable as a political candidate for governor of California?” Montoya said. “I’m really hoping that California voters aren’t going to elect somebody on name recognition alone, but if another viable candidate doesn’t come forward, that may be enough.”