Free Republic

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger enters 2006 in a politically weakened position few could have imagined when he took office a little more than two years ago, the result of a disastrous shift to the right in a state dominated by Democrats and independents. Facing re-election, the Republican governor has begun a swift transformation since November, when California voters rejected all four of his "year of reform" measures. The proposals included a spending cap, redistricting changes and restrictions on fundraising by public employee unions that Democrats had railed against. "A move back to the center is essential," said Gary...

His political strength hemorrhaging from multiple wounds -- some self-inflicted, others the result of a barrage of negative advertising -- the governor, his job approval rating below 40 percent, is nevertheless ebullient. He cannot be pretending. He is not that good an actor. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- tanned, tan suit, open-collared shirt, running shoes -- will run for reelection in 2006, but first, he says cheerfully, these next seven weeks will be "the rebuttal" to the ad assault from government employee unions. He wants voters to pass ballot measures to make teachers wait five years rather than two before achieving tenure,...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approval rating is still in the doldrums, with the majority of Californians not content with how he's doing his job, according to a poll released Friday. As of late August, 36 percent of registered voters approved of the governor's performance, while 52 percent disapproved, with 12 percent having no opinion, the nonpartisan Field Poll reported. The newest figures are similar to the approval rating in a Field poll two months ago. But they are down sharply since February, when 55 percent approved of the job he was doing. Respondents cited Schwarzenegger's call for...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has relished the role of the fearless "Terminator" armed for battle against an army of special interests, is suddenly looking more like Gulliver -- besieged, tied down, and overrun by his opponents. And no wonder: After months of campaigning, fund raising and warning of a Nov. 8 special election he insisted was "guaranteed,'' the governor's team blinked this week. Campaign adviser Mike Murphy floated a trial balloon -- most likely to gauge Democratic Party as much as voter reaction -- with Friday's public acknowledgement that Team Schwarzenegger has discussed the impossible: dumping the much-heralded special ballot...