Schwarzenegger: I'm Still Enjoying the Battle

June 21, 2005 — -- It's been a rough spring for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As he's learned in the past months, it's one thing to battle killer robots and aliens on the big screen, but another thing altogether to face off against angry nurses and teachers.

Schwarzenegger is supporting three controversial ballot initiatives this fall that most Californians oppose, and his education agenda -- which calls for increasing tenure requirements and getting rid of underperforming teachers -- has raised educators' ire. He has also taken on other powerful unions.

The backlash has been swift. The governor's once-lofty approval ratings have plunged, and last week he was heckled at a college commencement speech.

But in true action-hero style, Schwarzenegger seems confident that he will prevail.

Conflict just makes for a better story, Schwarzenegger told ABC News' "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview.

"You couldn't have had a better script, even if you write it," Schwarzenegger said. "I mean, it's absolutely perfect. It's now in the middle of the big struggle. The first act is stop the bleeding, turn the economy around. The second act is reform. The third act is then the building of California."

But are California voters dozing off during the second half? When Schwarzenegger announced his backing of the November special election, the Michael Jackson verdict bumped him off the air.

Schwarzenegger brushed off concerns about an apathetic electorate and his plummeting ratings. "Don't worry about that," he said. "They will not doze off. I will create the excitement. There's a lot of excitement this year."

The teachers' union is spending millions to battle his education agenda, but Schwarzenegger insists that he is not anti-union per se.

"There's a difference between being against the workers or members of a union versus the union bosses and the union leadership," he said. "The union leadership is only out to work for themselves."