Free Republic

Candidate Schwarzenegger frustrates Democrats. They're hornswoggled as he adopts their issues as his own and his approval soars. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is now campaigning as the politician who delivered to state voters his promised "action, action, action" on a higher minimum wage, landmark global warming legislation, a prescription drug bill and increased funding for education. And frustrated Democratic leaders -- starting at the top with the party's gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides -- have been left to stand by while Schwarzenegger has not only stolen their key issues, but also many of their campaign themes. Schwarzenegger's approval ratings...

SACRAMENTO - Maria Shriver's visit to an inner-city elementary school earlier this month was one of the many ceremonial duties she's assumed as the wife of California's governor. Still, one second-grader's inquiry was a surprise. ``Are you like the governor?'' he asked. ``That's a really loaded question,'' Shriver answered with a smile. Loaded perhaps, but it's a sentiment also murmured privately in the Capitol. Whatever the answer, there's no doubt the high-voltage former television reporter from a legendary Democratic family has emerged as a force in the administration of her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 49-year-old mother of four, who is...