[Princeliberty]

Like Arnold should take the hint.

McClintock is closing the gap and with Simon
out they probably will be in the margin of error.
And Arnold negatives way higher than McClintocks.

Arnold only going down and McClintock's only going up.
Only McClintock can win!
Drop out now Arnold!

[DodgeRam]

Read the poll. In Times poll Tom has only moved a few percentage points, while Arnold stays the same. Ueberroth is the one repub that made big gains. No other poll has him that high. Bust.. had 35, while only in the low 20's in other polls.

[deport]

Do you have another LA Times poll to compare with? If not this is the initial poll and how is one going up/down? If you are comparing it to other polls then that's apples and oranges.....

When either the CA Field Poll or the PPIC poll issue another poll then you'll have something to compare against.....

[JoeFromCA]

A candidate as conservative as McClintock simply can't win in California. The votes aren't there. I know them's fighting words, and I expect to be flamed big time by McClintock supporters.

The only way Republicans can make headway in California is by small steps, which means electing a fiscal conservative and passing, at least for now, on conservative social issues.

My assessment is that many California Republicans would rather stand on principal and see McClintock loose with 10 to 15 percent of the vote than see Schwarzenegger, whom they view as a RINO, win.

Flame away.

[djr]

Like everyone else around here, I'm partial to McClintock's views and hope he can mount a real challenge. I heard him about a week ago on a talk radio station from LA that routinely features 1 hour of anti-illegal immigration themes. While his views and track-record have been excellent here, he had to practically be coached by the host to get some fire in his belly. Sorry to say, but it's a fact of life that the charisma factor is important.

However, now is not the time for either Arnold or McClintock to drop out. We need one of these 2 to win. If McClintock can overtake Arnold, all the more power to him. However, in perhaps 1 month, I hope all the Republican candidates can read the tea leaves and there be unity behind one remaining Republican standard bearer. Whether it be Arnold or McClintock, I'm voting for the guy that I think will win.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

If Arnold drops out, McClintock picks up no more than half his votes. That puts McClintock behind Bustamante 35-22 (assuming Bustamante doesn't get a single one of the current Arnold votes -- a wacky assumption -- and assuming that this isn't an outlier poll -- which seems pretty obvious given how far afield it is from every other poll)...and what, precisely, has been gained???