In psychological circles, would this be called denial?

Governor's camp says his ideas didn't lose
Special election blamed -- opponents demand apology

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's aides argued Wednesday that the crushing defeat of the governor's measures at the polls meant California voters had rejected the need for the special election -- not his calls for reform.

Oh, you know, what can I say? Tim and I covered the recall campaign, dealt with his people and the whole Arnie as Politician parade. The stage-managed events full of hand-selected True Believers were reminiscent of the Bush 2000 campaign; clearly his people had taken a page or two out of Karl Rove' s playbook. We cringed the night of the debate in Sacramento, at Arnold's after-debate event, as we listened to the racist hate speech of Dennis Miller - I don't think he actually used the term "wetback", but the fact that I'm not sure is telling.

I felt then that there was no substance, no solidity, to either Schwarzenegger or his campaign. Even adjusting for my very liberal bias, I could find no finger hold, nothing to touch and say, "This is what he stands for." He didn't stand for anything, he simply campaigned on what he was not - a politician.

You know, there really is a place in this world for politicians. "Politician" need not be a dirty word, and the skills of a politician can make for good governance. Arnold Schwarzenegger is no politician. Nor is he a diplomat. He is a not-great actor who thought his popularity would give him a breezy ride through Sacramento, and when he found that wasn't the case - when he found that he didn't get to write the script or direct the show and that folks in the marble hallways of the Capitol play hardball - he called people names and went after nurses and firefighters and schoolteachers, for god's sake. Any hope for political dialog on any of the issues brought up in this special election died in a shitstorm of hype and hullabaloo. Talk about pissing away your political capital.

Now he wants us to think his ideas didn't lose?

From Spiegel Online:

THE TERMINATOR'S FALL FROM GRACE
Schwarzenegger Goes Down in California

A year ago, he was the state's wunderkind. Now, though, Californians are tired of their action-film-actor-turned-governor. He failed miserably in Tuesday's referendum and seems to have lost his touch. His approval ratings are even lower than Bush's.

So, your ideas didn't lose, Arnold? Okay. I'll try to take comfort from the fact that your utter cluelessness will render you ineffective. Ineffective people do less damage. And I'll hope that come next November there are some real candidates on the ballot. Then we can get rid of the velvet rope now strung across the doorway to the Governor's office, and lose the "Arnold Schwarzenegger" in gold leaf stick-on letters above that doorway, where never before was there someone's name; just the word, "Governor".