Schwarzenegger: Going, going....

Over the weekend, we visited our favorite Buddhist-owned cafe in Santa Cruz and while waiting for our food, I noticed a man standing on the street corner gathering signatures on petitions. He was wearing a T-shirt with the name Arnold in a cross-out so I decided to find out what the petitions were all about. I was hoping to sign a recall petition. No such luck.

One petition, which I signed, would limit corporate donations to political candidates. Our Gropenfuhrer has taken corporate sponsorship to a whole new level and now we like him even less than we like Bush in California.

When Arnold Falls, Maybe He'll Take His Corporate Sponsors With Him:

"A funny thing happened on the way to the special election, though. The wheels fell off Arnold's Humvee of a Governorship. In this, his 'year of reform,' Schwarzenegger has become synonomous with corporate scandal and is suddenly less popular in California that President Bush.

Much of the damage was self-inflicted. This is a guy whose rent is paid for by anonymous corporate donors and whose top government aides, who work long hours at full-time jobs, are also on his campaign payroll. His corruption index seems to be going off the charts.

But Schwarzenegger and his allies are also very much in danger because his growing number of critics, with nurses in the front row, have hit on a winning strategy. At every fundraiser he attends, from New Jersey to Ohio to San Diego, Schwarzenegger is met with groups of protestors -- many of them nurses, teachers, and firefighters -- who publicize the corporate deals being made behind closed doors inside. Every dollar he raises comes at a cost to his image. Just last week, nurses followed him to Boston where he hoped to host a $100,000 per ticket private box fundraiser at the Rolling Stones concert at Fenway Park. Apparently he was unable to find anyone willing to pay for the privilege of cozying up to him in his private box and when Mick mentioned to the crowd that Schwarzenegger was in the building, he was roundly booed."

I wonder if his inflated ego can handle the disapproval? Perhaps he lives in that alternate reality with Bush, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, et al.

Update from Rob whose German is better than mine:: Der Gropenfürer und der Ego.

Too much ego deflation may cause Ahnie's head to implode. This condition known as "Kopfenplosion Syndrome" is a rare condition that only affects Austrian Politicians with egos bigger than Texas.