Well, it's not surprising that the other shoe finally dropped on the infamous Arnold Schwarzenegger "Tapegate" story, those private audiotapes that leaked out during the final days of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

The Los Angeles Times, and several other newspapers, reported some of the contents of the six-hour tapes this morning. And the "yes you did/no I didn't" over the role of the Phil Angelides campaign in the new leaking of the tapes is the stuff of numerous e-mails today.

But the tapes themselves seem to be the real story. Yes, the governor can be heard making disparaging remarks about Democratic leaders-- accusing Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of being only interested in the "political" calculus of last year's bond negotiations, and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata being an "obstructionist" and "a very sick man". And yes, as the governor's aides are trying to point out today, he also talks passionately about various issues.

That's all sexy enough. But once you dig a little further into the transcripts (willingly provided today by the governor's press office), you will find an Arnold Schwarzenegger who at times seems optimistic, at other times frustrated, and at still other times more candid than he ever is in public.

I've uploaded the full transcripts for those who are curious.

(Transcript 1, Transcript 2, Transcript 3, and Transcript 4)

Even so, here's what caught my eye:

* Who's to blame for the way the media covers the governor? In a March 1, 2006 staff meeting, Schwarzenegger pushes his team for more lively PR events. When talking about a speech that focuses on policy, he calls it "a dead speech." Later, Schwarzenegger begins describing what kind of speeches he should be making. In referring to events to help promote his ideas on after-school programs: "I'd rather just tell them they're great, and this is terrific, and this is my experience with this, and just tell them some stories and pump them up, and then find a great ending."

Later in the same conversation, Schwarzenegger describes his ideal speech this way: "we have to make sure that we make the human connections and dramatize that."

But on March 13, 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger seems to contradict that sentiment. This time, he was complaining about the superficial nature of the press' coverage of the infrastructure bond discussion: "The media has no interest in the substance [of the infrastructure proposal]. None." He goes on to mention other policy issues where news coverage has not gotten into the specifics.

"No substance," the governor says, "because they [the press] feel like the people will not care about it."

* Other conversations reveal that the governor is keenly aware of things he would never admit in public. For example, on March 7, 2006 the governor notes that critics had said that the implementation of his 2002 after-school initiative, Proposition 49, would force the state to spend money it didn't have.

Isn't it interesting, said Schwarzenegger, that every time a ballot initiative passes, "Sacramento right away jumps on it and tries to undo it, or change it, and always go against the will of the people."

But then, he admits that sometimes he, too, has wanted to tinker with the will of the voters. "I have to be careful because I was trying to undo Proposition 98 last year with the budget," said the governor. "So we have to be careful that we don't go overboard with that complaint." The proposal to modify Prop 98 (the school funding law) was part of his budget reform plan in 2005, and was one of the rallying cries of the group that sunk his 2005 special election campaign.

* And finally, something totally off the wall. In a March 1, 2006 discussion about traffic woes in California, the governor seems to long for the German Autobahn.

"On a freeway in Germany, there is no road rage, because people go 180 miles an hour... And this is why no one ever falls asleep [on the road] in Germany, because you drive too fast and that raises the blood pressure and you can't fall asleep this way."