A statewide Field Poll shows Schwarzenegger's job approval has skidded to just 37 percent, down from a stratospheric 65 percent last year. And only 37 percent support a special election to consider his reform measures, which include setting a state spending cap, redrawing legislative districts and increasing from two to five years the time it takes teachers to get tenure. The poll showed voters support the tenure measure, but the other two are running well behind.

What this means for the governor depends on who's answering the question. His opponents see weakness in the numbers and viewed him as humbled and conciliatory during his Tuesday news conference to respond to the poll. Others closer to him say the governor is aware of public sentiment but isn't letting the poll sway him from his special election message.

Indeed, members of Schwarzenegger's political team have publicly challenged the poll's credibility and insisted the special election campaign was moving forward as planned.

His chief political strategist, Mike Murphy, issued a statement calling the poll results "balderdash." And fundraising consultant Marty Wilson said the poll would have little impact on the team's strategy going forward.

"I've been running campaigns in the state for 25 years as have a number of our colleagues in the governor's high command," Wilson said. "Not once have we made a decision based on what the Field Poll says. And we're not going to now."

The poll seemed to have a different effect on the governor, however. He appeared subdued Tuesday compared to his usual playful swagger. He told reporters he would step up his efforts to reach a compromise agreement with the Legislature.

"People make mistakes sometimes, and I think that we learn," Schwarzenegger said when asked about the lessons of the poll. "These are very clear messages that we must work together, and so I am looking forward to that."

Schwarzenegger biographer Laurence Leamer said that while the governor has a knack for remaining positive in the face of adversity, nothing has prepared him for the hit to his image indicated by this week's poll.

"Here's this guy who promised things would be great again, and the people of California bought into it. Boy, it's fallen apart," said Leamer, whose biography "Fantastic" was released recently and who remains in touch with the governor and his team. "He has gotten a lot of bad reviews for his movies, but this is something else. He is troubled. He is a troubled man at this point."

Lost in the focus on Schwarzenegger's poll numbers are the companion figures for the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Democrats so far have successfully steered the campaign away from the Legislature, but the Field Poll indicated those lawmakers also have reason to seek a compromise with the governor. Just 24 percent of voters approve of the job the Legislature is doing, a 10-point drop since February.

Should Schwarzenegger reach an agreement with legislators over the budget and some or all of his special election measures, the Nov. 8 election may turn into a simple ratification of several reform measures.

"The truth is, he really cares about California and he really wants to reform it," Leamer said. "But he needs to reach out with authenticity — sound bites aren't going to do it. And if he doesn't win, I think he'll go away. Because this just can't feel good."

If negotiations with Democrats break down, Schwarzenegger may have little choice but to proceed with the special election as planned. That move probably would require changes to the strategy he's followed thus far.

The governor's team has gambled that his enduring celebrity would persuade voters to accept his plans to revamp state government. They believed that in a contest pitting the world-famous Schwarzenegger against the unpopular Legislature, the odds were on the governor's side.

Instead, Schwarzenegger's credibility has been hammered, thanks to his own mistakes and to a coalition of Democrat-leaning interest groups that have painted him as a bully and his reforms as a Republican power grab. The groups have staged regular protests outside his fundraisers and public events and waged a pricey television ad campaign casting the governor as an enemy of ordinary working Californians.

"It's Schwarzenegger and his celebrity versus cops and teacher and firefighters and nurses," said Phil Trounstine, a former communications director for Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. "They can't cast this as the good governor versus the bad Legislature. That's the morality play the Schwarzenegger team wants, and it isn't happening."

© 2005 Associated Press.