Arnie loses his hero status with voters after string of gaffes

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=631585

Most politicians would regard a 17-month honeymoon as an unimaginable gift from the heavens. But, in the case of Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose aura of invincibility has been part of his public image since he first ran for governor of California, the end of the honeymoon is not only proving a letdown. It is rapidly transforming him from public hero to public enemy and raising questions about whether he has a political future at all.

Having campaigned two years ago as "the people's governor", Mr Schwarzenegger now faces a barrage of opposition from those very same people who voted for him so enthusiastically - nurses, firefighters, teachers, parents, recent immigrants - almost all of whom he has managed to alienate through ill-chosen words or over-provocative policy prescriptions.

Yesterday, the governor's staff was furiously backtracking from a speech Mr Schwarzenegger gave to a newspaper association convention in San Francisco, in which he urged the federal government to "close the borders" with Mexico to put an end to illegal immigration.

It was the latest in a series of gaffes and gratuitously insulting remarks that Mr Schwarzenegger has made in public recently. The state's nurses are still fuming at his vow to "kick their butts" because they want to increase nurse-to-patient ratios. And the state's Democrats, who run most things outside of the governor's office, have broken off their once cosy relationship with him, not least because he accused them of being "girlie men".

it'd be a good kick in the teeth for the repukes..

by a landslide. Now is a little too late to have second thoughts and start crabbing about it.

Sorry to the rest of you who knew better and didn't vote for him.

too sorry for the people of CA. Did they really think voting for the "Terminator" was going to magically solve the problems of that State?

Arnold will not run for a second term. if he is smart Which he has proven not to be). he has pissed off Nurses, parents, immigrants, fire and police departments,correctional officers, and ALL state and county workers. The GOP is in full defense mode with this guys constant press screw ups. not to mention the endless Arnold bashing commercials killing him on T.V Radio and even fly byes with banners vilifying him at every P.R. event.
Just last week he only had 100 people show up for a PR event and most of them were from his staff and other GOP staffers. the other 5,000 were pissed off voters. He will not make it. He fooled some of the people last time. However, he is fooling NO ONE today.

the morning after the election, the lone Bushie at my work took a look at his pic on the front page of the newspaper and gave a big, gratified sigh.

her son, an EMT in northern cal, has just lost his job, but she won't be able to connect the dots.

edited for spelling.

to elect someone whose entire career can be summed up as "POSER," what the fuck do you EXPECT will happen???? Idiots.