GOP: Arnold losing his luster

SF Gate:

GOP insiders in Sacramento say privately that Schwarzenegger is losing the PR war. "If they don't get control in the next two weeks," one said, "(the story line) will be that Schwarzenegger is taking money away from widows and orphans."

"He is suffering right now," says Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo, whose February survey showed Schwarzenegger's approval rating at 55 percent, having slipped 10 points in five months. "It wouldn't surprise me if (his job approval ratings) were below 50 percent today," says DiCamillo, who notes the biggest decline has been among "a very powerful and positive group for him" - - nearly 1 in 5 state voters who are nonpartisan or "decline to state."

It has turned into an odd strategic move, taking on teachers, nurses, and cops, three professions generally well viewed in the public eye. And as reported over the weekend, Arnold's approval numbers have fallen to 49%.

And for a movie star, it should be al about image. But that has failed him as well, as voters now see the action star miscast in the governor's roll:

The voter turnoff stems from the confusing Schwarzenegger agenda, DiCamillo says. "They're looking at his plans for a special election and ... they think he's not really fulfilling the job he was elected to do -- which was to govern and make laws."

Some Sacramento insiders concur, saying an image problem is beginning to take hold.

"People are starting to sense he's not who he said he was," says Democratic strategist Garry South, a senior adviser to former Gov. Gray Davis. "He talks about bipartisanship, that parties don't matter, that 'I'm here to do the people's business,' " says South. "And for some reason, he's decided to adopt a Wilsonesque agenda that tells everyone on the left to go screw themselves."