So Californians like the big oaf. What can I say? I never undestood the fascination with Jesse Ventura either, but celebrity has its own benefits.
Problem for Arnold, however, is that people don't like his policies.
Californians like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger but aren't ready to pass the $15 billion deficit bond he says is needed to save state government from bankruptcy, according to an independent poll released Wednesday.
Likely voters surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California are largely satisfied with his proposed budget, but a significant number - 44 percent - believe he should have included tax hikes in the plan and a majority are at least somewhat concerned about the effects of his proposed spending cuts.
At a time when education and local government are facing cuts in Schwarzenegger's proposed spending plan, the poll conducted earlier this month indicates a majority of likely voters would be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain the current funding levels for K-12 education and cities and counties.
Similarly, the survey showed a majority of voters prefer to deal with the state's multibillion-dollar gap between spending and revenue by using a mix of tax increases and spending cuts [...]
Despite Schwarzenegger's rosy approval rating, there's little voter support for his deficit bond on the March 2 ballot, so far, with 35 percent of likely voters saying they would vote for it, 44 percent opposing it and 21 percent undecided.
Arnold campaigned on balancing the budget by rooting out "waste" in Sacramento. He ridiculed Davis for leaning on bond measures to balance the budget. He promised to protect education spending from cuts.
Well, Arnold couldn't find $14 billion in waste, hacked education spending, and floated the big bond measure. Yet the voters don't seem to be in the mood for further debt.
If the voters defeat the bond measure (and it's still too early to predict one way or another), Arnold will be in a world of hurt. He will have no choice but to raise taxes (perhaps even the hated car tax) and make DEEP cuts in spending.
And if that happens, Arnold may not finish out the year.