New in CW 08.04.06

Angelides hones campaign message Down in the polls and with less than 100 days until the election, Phil Angelides' campaign for governor has revamped its campaign message. For much of the general election campaign--and even during the primary--Angelides and his advisers worked to tie Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the President George W. Bush, hoping the latter's dismal approval ratings in the state would drag down the governor's reelection chances. But in recent weeks the campaign has rolled out a new theme: Arnold Schwarzenegger as a flip-flopping, convictions-free actor versus Angelides, a "governor you can count on." Since July 25, the Angelides campaign and the state Democratic Party have sent out twelve missives blasting Schwarzenegger for "flip-flops", accusing him of changing his positions on Proposition 187, greenhouse gases, fully funding education, not raising money from special interests and the Minutemen. On Thursday, the California Democratic Party unveiled a Web page dedicated solely to tracking Schwarzenegger's "flip-flops and broken promises." In the previous seven months of the year, Team Angelides had never once used the term in either a press release or memo to reporters.