That PPIC poll on the environment in February which showed voters rate Arnold Schwarzenegger no better than George Bush on environmental issues must have registered with the administration.

This afternoon Schwarzenegger held a news conference on short notice to personally weigh in on his Climate Action Team's report that recommends mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other large emitters. Schwarzenegger used the moment not only to reaffirm his commitment to doing something in response to global warming, but also to distance himself from Bush.

"The federal government has so far fallen short," he said. "I don't want to wait on the federal government."

He suggested that perhaps Bush and Republicans in Congress might take a look at what California's Republican governor is doing. "The federal government is hopefully going to look at this and say, 'They took the leadership, let us follow.'"

Expect much more of this in the months ahead: Schwarzenegger is very visibly going to try to distance himself from Bush on environmental issues.