"All Of Us… Can Share Blame"
With his new poll numbers headed southward, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tried out a new tune this morning: humility.
In a news conference that lasted just under 20 minutes, the governor seemed to accept the validity of the latest Field Poll (read it here), which shows only 37% of those surveyed approve of how he's doing his job.
"I guarantee you that all of us in this building can share blame," he said. "All of us, including myself."
Schwarzenegger continued by saying "people make mistakes sometimes, and I think we learn, those are very clear messages."
Other notable comments from the governor this morning:
* He began the event by attempting to push back recent comments from Democrats about the similarities in their budget proposal and his. " Nothing could be further from the truth," he said. The governor said reporters should focus on what he says is a vastly different impact of the two proposals on the state's structural deficit-- a deficit he argues will be some $2 billion deeper under the Democratic version.
* Schwarzenegger defended his comments from the campaign trail last week about how some in Sacramento want to remove the tax limits under Proposition 13. But this time, he only referred to efforts at increasing "taxes", and not any specific plans to raise property taxes. "I will continue talking about that, because those are the facts," he said.
* And when asked about the possibility of convening a Big 5 meeting with legislative leaders, the governor took a jab at meetings that are the ultimate in insider politics.
"I've never reached any kind of an agreement, or accomplished anything, in a Big 5 meeting," he said. Schwarzenegger depicted those meetings as more about "photo ops" and lawmakers who are trying to "position" themselves.
