California Insider

Last year, Schwarzenegger managed to paint a series of modest victories as resounding successes, and that perception of success built on itself, giving the public the impression that he was turning around the state. But the governor's last clear-cut victory was more than a year ago, when he brokered an overhaul of the state's troubled workers compensation system. Since then, he has stumbled badly on the budget, shelved his plan to overhaul state government, struggled to clean up the state prisons and now, tripped over himself while trying to get out of the gate with his four-point reform agenda. His only chance to claim victory in that period was when he positioned himself on the right side of about a dozen ballot measures, but even there, it's difficult to say how much of the result was due to his endorsements or oppostion. And in the same election, the Democrats cleaned his clock in candidate races. The question in the weeks ahead is whether voters will give Schwarzenegger credit for backing off on his controversial pension initiative or sense that his retreat signals that he is weak and ineffective, traits that are not likely to win him more support from the electorate.