Sacramento Loves Obama. For now, at least.

Two bits of news trickling in from the nation's capital are creating a stir inside the fiscally drained statehouse as the week begins. First, today's headline that President Barack Obama is asking the federal EPA to take another look at California's request for strict new tailpipe exhaust standards. That long battle that resulted in the Bush administration saying 'thanks, but no thanks' last year in its rejection of California's request.

"We never gave up," said Governor Schwarzenegger at a news conference this afternoon reacting to the Obama announcement. "Now California finally has a partner and an ally in Washington."

That comment makes it impossible to ignore the irony: Schwarzenegger campaigned for George W. Bush in 2004. Had a Democrat been in the White House, many would argue the EPA would have never rejected the waiver. Schwarzenegger also campaigned for Sen. John McCain against Obama, though McCain's position on global warming issues wasn't as in conflict with California's guv as was that of the former president.

Meantime, state lawmakers are starting to see estimates of how big the federal helping hand will be in terms of a fiscal bailout... er... economic stimulus. A report from the National Conference of State Legislatures suggests California could receive as much as $21.5 billion of the $198 billion package.

Of course, that number comes with some caveats; not only does it not match up to our budget process (federal fiscal years begin in October, ours begins in July)... but it also wouldn't all go towards solving the $40 billion hole in California's general fund. That number may be closer to about $11 billion.

In his Q&A with reporters today, Schwarzenegger didn't dismiss the importance of the money. "We will take that money," he said. But at the same time, he made it clear he's not ready to necessarily shrink the gap that needs to be resolved through private negotiations with legislative leaders (which continue today). And on those talks, he would only say this: "We're getting closer and closer."

It appears that Governor Schwarzenegger is heading back to Ohio, ground zero for presidential elections.

At a campaign event this morning in San Diego in support of Proposition 11, Schwarzenegger said that a trip to the Buckeye State is on the horizon in support of the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

The governor, answering a question from a reporter, said he plans to travel to Columbus, Ohio to campaign for McCain late next week. And he made it clear that he thinks the trip isn't that big of a deal.

"I've done this in 1988, and in 1992, and on," said the governor according to an audio recording provided by his political team. Schwarzenegger's eponymous bodybuilding event is held every year in Columbus, which explains why he feels at home there.

Of course, Schwarzenegger's answer left out the Columbus campaign trip that's most remembered: the October 29, 2004 event in support of President George W. Bush. At that event, the governor told a local crowd estimated at some 20,000 that he was there to "pump [them] up." A few days later, Bush eked out a narrow win in Ohio.

Some pundits went so far as to say that Schwarzenegger may have helped seal the deal, especially in a media market like Columbus that was seen as crucial in the contest between Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Schwarzenegger has a much closer relationship with McCain than he did Bush; still, given the strong sense in his home state that Barack Obama is the better choice on November 4, it will be interesting to see how Californians react to their governor's new extracurricular activities.