Now that he has finally seen Arnold Schwarz-enegger in person, Nathan Brodrick feels hope for his beloved/beleaguered state of California, and the Republican candidate's chances at the same time.

"I don't really know how he is going to do it, or even if he knows how he's going to turn this state around," says the computer analyst, standing beneath an awning outside Jamba Juice at a mall where the actor has just appeared. "I just think things are such a mess that he's worth a try."

By contrast, secretary Nancy Lopez, holding a sign that says "NO Re-PETE for California" - with a picture of former GOP Gov. Pete Wilson - is in an angry tizzy. "I hope these people don't buy into this baloney ... He's just a rich celebrity and an actor and a bad one at that," she says. "This is a guy who wants to be governor just for personal ambition."

Nearly one month after Mr. Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for California governor on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, a day on his campaign trail offers a window into the anybody's-guess world of California's confused and compacted governor recall election.

With just over four weeks still to go, Schwarzenegger's first road tour - more of a cameo, really - shows how quickly the self- proclaimed political "outsider" has in many ways taken on the trappings of an insider pol himself.

Exhibit A: After suggesting he would run a campaign financed with his own millions, he has hired fundraisers to solicit donors who have already contributed a reported $4 million.

Exhibit B: His first foray here outside Southern California - designed to attract crowds and press but not answer their questions.

"In record time, Arnold has become the insider politician he promised everyone he would not become," says Larry Berg, a former longtime political scientist at the University of Southern California. "Instead of running a people's campaign with fresh insight from outside the system, he has surrounded himself completely with very good, seasoned political consultants who have spent their lives in California politics and are advising him accordingly."

On a jalapeño-hot afternoon in late August, Schwarzenegger visits the agricultural hub of Fresno with three stops calculated to highlight his priorities of education, jobs, and wresting lawmakers in Sacramento from special interests.

With national, state, and local press in tow, he puts in an appearance at an elementary school, a factory plant, and a popular retail mall, tossing out just enough kernels of information to entice followers, but not enough substance to anger or galvanize opposition.

"This state has everything it needs to turn itself around," says the tanned and grinning Schwarzenegger, staring into a 5 p.m. sun and the eyes of 3,500 people at the mall, who have paused to hear his 15 minute talk. His visage then turns to a Terminator-like scowl. "What we don't have is leadership," he says.

The tour will rely on brief stump speeches that he has used before, talking up the importance of education spending and no new taxes. The outing is heavy on hyperbole and photo ops, and light on press contact.

At every stop, the public reaction is similar: "I just came out because I've seen him in the movies and I wanted to see what he was like in person," says farm worker Calvin Campos, standing outside Borders Books. "His ideas seem good, but he didn't say how he was going to achieve them."

At every stop the press reaction is also similar. "He still has not engaged in any serious discussions with any journalists who regularly cover politics in this state," says Michael Finnegan, political writer for the state's largest newspaper, The Los Angeles Times. "We're wondering when if ever he will ever be more specific. Time is running out."

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