There's plenty of coverage out there of President Barack Obama's southern California trip... which leaves a niche politics blog to highlight something else -- and that's what a difference a few months can make.
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It was vintage Arnold Schwarzenegger today in Columbus Ohio, as the guv stumped for GOP presidential nominee John McCain. Two parts of his intro of McCain are worth noting, the first for its mocking humor.

"The next Arnold Classic [held in Columbus], I want to invite Senator Obama," said the governor, "because he needs to do something about those skinny legs."

The crowd roared. Schwarzenegger went on. "We're going to make him do some squats. And then we're going to go and give him some bicep curls to beef up those scrawny little arms."

Lest anyone think the guv didn't have a point about Barack Obama, he then said: "But if only we could do something about putting some meat on his ideas."

After then praising McCain for being "solid" and the man for the job, the governor of California took a jab at the Democratic nominee's fundraising prowess in the race for the White House.

"It is true that Senator Obama has raised massive amounts of campaign funds, more than anyone in history," he said. "If Senator Obama had taken all that money he spent on TV ads, he could've bailed out the banks, paid off everyone's mortgages, and saved taxpayers a ton of money. I think there will be a backlash against all of this lopsided spending."

The Ohioans roared... perhaps unaware that Schwarzenegger is no slouch himself when it comes to raising campaign cash. Lots of campaign cash.

In fact, it seems safe to say the incumbent governor will go down as the most prolific campaign fundraiser in California history.

A quick, but by no means exhaustive, analysis of state campaign records of his major campaign committees, from his 2002 afterschool initiative to today, concludes Schwarzenegger has raised more than $136.2 million as a political figure.

But that's a debate for back here at home... where given the state's fiscal problems, one might be able to use the same argument the governor did today -- that there's at least a worthy govenrment service ot two that could have benefitted from the money he's raised, too.

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.

ST. PAUL -- And now, the day they've been waiting for.

Last night's big speech from the new VP candidate was big, but this is the night the Republican National Convention is all about: Sen. John McCain's acceptance of the nomination, and his prime-time speech to the nation.

California's delegates had this morning to themselves for a change, with no planned events. The bar here at the Sheraton Bloomington was packed after Gov. Sarah Palin's big appearance last night, and stayed so until well after midnight (some of us went to bed about 1:30 am), so I'm guessing the Golden State crowd enjoyed the extra rest.

On this morning's edition of The California Report, we examined the GOP effort to court Latino voters in the November election, even as the party's delegation to the RNC underrepresents these key voters relative to their population back home (official statistics show the California delegation is 90% Caucasian, 6% Latino, 3% Asian American, and 1% African American).

Also worth noting is Wednesday morning's story profiling former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who some think could be a formidable statewide candidate in California once she completes her work this fall with Team McCain.

In tomorrow's CN podcast, more from Whitman and another likely GOP candidate for the state's highest office, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

More tidbits and photos later in the day...

Governor Schwarzenegger's appearance at the Bay Area Council's annual event this morning felt more like a celebrity interview than a policy discussion, though perhaps that changed after the first 20 minutes or so... which is when the video feed went down.

Still, a fun quip came when the moderator asked Schwarzenegger to name a policy disagreement he's had with his wife, First Lady Maria Shriver. The governor replied with describing the day he came home a few weeks ago.

"All of a sudden," he said, "I see an Obama sign in front of my home."

The audience laughed at the reference to the first couple's presidential split. She's endorsed Democrat Barack Obama; he's endorsed Republican John McCain.

The governor went on to quote his wife talking about Obama. "'Oh, he's so cool,'" he said he remembers Shriver saying. The audience at the Alameda event ate it up.

But the best line came next. In a reference surely to make supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton feel slighted, Schwarzenegger said he sees his household Obama-McCain disagreement as having a silver lining come November.

"It doesn't matter who gets elected, we're in."