It was evident during his visit to opening day at the California State Fair, that fans are still eager to see Schwarzenegger.
"A celebrity! Even if he was a governor or not, I would still see him because of his movies," Schwarzenegger fan Justin Jahn said.
But as governor, he doesn't have many fans these days.
The latest Field Poll shows his approval rating is at an all-time low just 22 percent, a remarkable plunge from the height of his popularity in late summer of 2004, at 65 percent.
Unbelievably, his predecessor, Gray Davis, also dropped into the dumper at 22 percent, which led to his recall and paved the way for Schwarzenegger to take over.
This time, though, there'll be no total recall; Schwarzenegger is termed out in January. With the time remaining, he says he isn't paying attention to his poll numbers and that the late state budget is a priority.
"When I'm finished with this job, I can worry about myself, my popularity and approval ratings and making a lot of money, all of those things," Schwarzenegger said.
Political analysts point out no politician is getting high approval ratings these days.
"Getting people's favorability ratings in California are now really impossible. Frankly the bottom line is this: until the economy significantly turns around, I don't care who gets elected, they're not going to be well-liked," political analyst Gary Dietrich said.
Schwarzenegger isn't winning any popularity contests here either. These families are upset he plans to eliminate their subsidized childcare. They're part of the group dissatisfied with state leadership.
"I think it's just the lack of faith and the hope that we have in this whole system," Kimberly Burton from Stockton said.
"Hopefully, we'll get a new Governor in soon that'll make changes for California that'll be positive," Patty Smith from Petaluma said.
Californians don't like the job the Legislature is doing either. Lawmakers' approval is even lower than the Governor's at 16 percent, and it's been in the teens for almost two years.
