If there were any lingering doubts about the amount of heat applied to political feet by KFBK, KFI, KOGO and other radio listeners last week when we all went to Washington, DC to lobby for immigration reform (Hold Their Feet to the Fire), then those doubts were erased in recent days by the smell of burning shoe leather here in Sacramento.

One political sin which cannot be ascribed to Governor Schwarzenegger is that of being unresponsive to citizen pressure. Well, alright, just pressure – it just so happens in this case that the pressure is being applied by the citizenry.

In this case the pressure manifests in the twin punches of gubernatorial approval ratings that have plummeted some 20 points in 4 months, and polls showing a deep reservoir of approval (in excess of 70%) for immigration reform. Somewhere among the dunces and liberal democrats who surround the governor a grown up has apparently emerged and put 2+2 together and reached the conclusion that having the governor being seen as threatening violence on nurses (“I vill kick der butts”) is bad and that being on the side of 70+% of the voters is good.

In case you missed it, just before we all left for DC last weekend Arnold came down on the side of immigration reform (“vee must close zee borders”), but quickly apologized. By the end of the week he was on KFI with John & Ken (who had brought nearly 200 of their listeners to Hold Their Feet to the Fire) to flip again. Now, he told them, he was back on the immigration reform train, just a week after jumping on then off – now he is on again. He is on to the point that over the weekend the SF Chronicle decided to run a political hit piece accusing the governor of (among other things) being a Pete Wilson retread. What the Chron doesn’t get is that on this issue that is high praise.

Arnold is in critical need of a populist issue to glom onto to keep his head above water, and it looks like immigration reform is going to be it.

The November special election idea is (thankfully) all but dead, the various Arnold initiative petitions authored by and for big money special interests are failing and being abandoned one by one, and the governor’s isolation from the voters has rendered Schwarzenegger ineffectual as a chief executive. Joining you and me in the fight to protect California’s, and America’s borders and economic future opens a rich vein of political support and good will that the governor may now tap to regain his footing. IF he folows through with more words and a little action. While he's at it, maybe he can get somebody to get Margita Thompson (the woman in charge of protecting Arnold from journalists) to shut her pie hole and stop undermining and correcting the governor every time he opens his mouth. If that yammering woman would receed into the the ether from which she came and just let the man speak his approval ratings would shoot up 10 points right there alone! She seems bound and determined to cut the governor's legs off at every opportunity. Phil "Munch" Angelides should drop to his knees and thank heaven every night for Maggie.

I’ll take my victories where I can get them on this issue, and always welcome a political shift by any elected official in the face of the will of the people….that is something to encourage.

So, Mr. Schwarzenegger: welcome back to the fight. Glad to have you on board, but know this: if your feet start to cool down and you try to take a little walk, we've got a book of political matches out here and we are not afraid to use them.

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Mark Williams is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, and Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. His work appears in this publication, on Fox News Channel and nightly on Sacramento’s 1530 AM KFBK radio. For more on Mark and his background visit his web site.