Free Republic

A year after Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, he stood with the political world seemingly safe in his colossal grip, hailed as a reformer of ambition and ability, carrying the hopes of the state's voters on his broad shoulders. Midway through his second year, however, and the former Hollywood star and one-time Mr Universe has found that the mantle of Californian politics is becoming more of a burden. The Republican governor's plummeting popularity has forced him to call a special legislative election to push through his troubled reforms. Just 37 per cent of Californians agree with Mr Schwarzenegger's...

SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pulled his "Year of Reform" special election from his populist playbook, predicting that California voters will support his agenda because they want change in the way state government operates. Yet several of the measures on the Nov. 8 ballot, including two of Schwarzenegger's, have that "been there, done that" feeling. The election lineup includes at least three initiatives that are similar to ones California voters have rejected in the past, suggesting the governor could have a difficult selling job in the months ahead. In elections dating to the 1970s, voters have rejected variations of...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is California's most famous personality and counts on that to persuade voters to enact three measures that would shift the balance of power in the Capitol - but as he called a special election Monday, he was at least partially upstaged by the acquittal of another famous Californian, Michael Jackson, on child molestation charges. Many television stations elevated the Jackson verdict over Schwarzenegger's three-minute speech in which he declared that "our broken state government will be modernized and revitalized" either through his initiatives or compromises with the Democrat-controlled Legislature, the latter being, however, an infinitesimal possibility. Schwarzenegger aides...