Spin Dry

And the news just gets worse and worse and worse for Der Gropenfuehrer...

What once seemed unthinkable has now become a reality: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approval ratings have plummeted to Gray Davis levels, and the cornerstone of his "Year For Reform" agenda is on shaky ground.

In 90 days, Schwarzenegger's popularity has tumbled by 20 points and potential voters are now voicing doubt about the state spending restrictions the Republican governor wants them to approve in a special election this fall.

Yeah, karma, like payback, can be a bitch. Arnold was an opportunistic carpetbagger, an empty suit figurehead who came in with the highest name recognition even as Davis was media manipulated out of his job. As we've now seen, all that blather about cleaning up Sacramento and getting rid of "deeee zpetzyul intuhrezts" (that's special interests to you and me) was mere hype, pure bullshit -- a great speech written for the first act of a film that was abandoned in pre-production.

No one ever wrote the next act for Arnold, and he wound up in Sacramento clueless. Beyond soundbites, he's accomplished nothing, and now even the soundbites have gotten stale. Over at Swing State Project:

...at this point, the sharks smell blood in the water and no matter how much Arnold retreats on the issues, he will be chased down and ripped apart.

Cover the eyes of the children, this is going to get ugly.

True. Arnold thought he was starring in The Governator, but in reality he's a bit player in Jaws -- you know. The drunk, naked girl who gets munched in the beginning.

Further Signs of the Arnoldocalypse from Swing State:

This poll isn't just bad, this is have your Secretary of Edcation resign bad. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Sacramento -- Richard Riordan, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's secretary for education, announced his resignation Wednesday as a new poll showed the governor's approval rating plummeting to an all-time low, largely because voters don't support his handling of education.

Indeedy. What should make Riordan's departure even more alarming for the Arnold camp is this: in California, LA in particular, Riordan was very popular, a moderate Republican that even Democrats liked. Now that he's fallen on his sword, I think it's just a matter of time before the fat lady puts on that viking helmet and hits the stage for her aria...