I am afraid to say Governor Ahnold has made a serious political misstep. Just recently he made a bold move by calling for special elections this fall, a year early, to force the legislature to face the voters. But he has flinched in the face of poor polling and that is going to make him look weak:

A chastened Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger extended a conciliatory hand Tuesday to California lawmakers, as a new opinion poll showed that voters dislike the governor nearly as much as the highly unpopular Legislature.

At a Capitol news conference the governor called to spur negotiations on the overdue state budget, Schwarzenegger acknowledged that the public was upset by the bickering between him and his Democratic opponents over a policy agenda he unveiled in January.

“All of us in this building can share blame — all of us, including myself,” Schwarzenegger said. “People make mistakes sometimes, and I think we learned there was a very clear message that we must work together. I am looking forward to that. The people … feel good when things work well.”

I have lots of family in CA, of all political stripes. So I have some idea of what is going on out there. They are fed up with their school system, illegal immigrants getting massive amounts of public support and the budget problems. But they cannot seem to support the required changes to fix the problems. The CA economy is a basket case. So when I see these poll numbers I wonder when are the people of Kalifornia going to stop voting in governors to fix problems and then tossing them out when they do not like what they hear?

A Field poll released this week showed that 58% of all Californians disapprove of Schwarzenegger’s job performance and 31% approve — about the same point that former Gov. Gray Davis had reached after three years in office. Schwarzenegger came into office 18 months ago with soaring public approval ratings, after unseating a governor for only the second time in U.S. history.

Among registered voters, 53% disapproved of Schwarzenegger’s job performance. The Democrat-dominated Legislature didn’t fare well, either: The poll showed that 57% of registered voters disliked its performance, and 24% approved.

These numbers are why the Governator was right to call for the elections – he needs to get the public on the record in fixing the problems. CA is in real serious danger of permanent damage. They over promised social services. They are taxing and regulating high end businesses right out of the state. The only reason population is increasing is the swarm of illegal aliens coming in is out-pacing the numbers of Americans fleeing for more affordable housing and stable jobs. The Governator should continue with the special elections and have the people of CA face these issues head on.