Misleader of the state (of California)

Arnold gets caught in a lie as he works to promote Proposition 76, his plan to give the Governor absolute budget power:

Schwarzenegger said he'd "already been told in Sacramento" that the Legislature would close next year's budget gap by borrowing $3.8 billion already approved by the voters and combining it with money now scheduled to go for cities and transportation projects to close the budget gap next year.

"Is that what you want?" he asked the crowd of mayors, council members and city officials.

But Assemblyman John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat who chairs the budget committee, said the Legislature had no plans to balance the budget with city money. The only way the state could tap cities' money would be if Prop. 76 passes, he said.

"Proposition 76 would override the voter protection on local government funding," Laird said. "Nothing else would allow anyone to dip into those funds."