By all rights, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should be a goner come November. He's a Republican in a Democratic state. Voters rejected his conservative agenda of 2005 and soured on him in the process. His approval ratings stubbornly refuse to budge above 50 percent. But this is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star swept into office by a public that hasn't always liked his politics but still likes him -- and still lines up, often in awe, to get a glimpse or an autograph.In great part because of that complicated relationship with voters, no one dares count out the action star in his bid against Democratic nominee Phil Angelides. Even when Schwarzenegger was at his lowest, "when you asked people to choose between him and Angelides, most people still thought he would probably win," said GOP political analyst Allan Hoffenblum, who publishes the nonpartisan California Target book analyzing races. "Because of the likability factor. And he's Arnold. He's more fun to have around."
Chastened by last year's failure, the 2006 model governor has shown himself an apt pupil of California politics, overhauling his style and substance. Two years after announcing his candidacy in the most Hollywood way possible -- on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno -- Schwarzenegger is now seeking re-election not as the glib Terminator of the establishment but as a public servant seeking political affirmation.