Each week it gets worse and worse for Ahnuld. He dropped to 13 points behind Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante in the latest poll (LA Times).

50% behind (22% support vs. 35) and dropping is a very unhealthy place for a novelty candidate. It's not hard to see why, though. Have you seen his TV commericals? I saw one and it's nothing but schmaltz: "I'll be the people's governor!" Who is advising him? Don't they get it that he needs to show he's got substance? All that thing does is make him look like a guy who thinks he can play governor on TV. (And when is he making the transistion down to the little screen, by the way. Outside his one reliable terminator character, all his recent movies have tanked.)

He's still got time to turn it around, but all signs so far indicate he'll just keep fading. Nice  to see Californians are ready to be starstruck.

I'm sad to say Arianna's campaign has gone nowhere. Perhaps all the freaks running tarred them all with the whacko brush, and people went looking for traditional candidates. Looking more and more like  like the most traditional position possible, the #2 spot will just move up. (If Davis gets the boot. His numbers are finally improving).

A contemptuous federal judge ruled against Fox News Friday, denying its request for an injunction against Al Franken's book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right."

I hope you have been following this story, it's been a howler. Fox claimed the book violated its trademark of "Fair and Balanced," one of the most ludicrous, embarassaing and counterproductive high-profile suits in recent memory. The judge agreed: "There are hard cases and there are easy cases," he said. "This is an easy case. The case is wholly without merit both factually and legally…It is ironic that a media company that should seek to protect the First Amendment is instead seeking to undermine it."

Not only did the suit push Franken's book to #1 on Amazon and cause his publisher to rush it out early to capitalize on the publicity, the suit could actually backfire, costing Fox the trademark it claims to be trying to protect. "It's highly unlikely that the phrase 'Fair and Balanced' is a valid trademark," the judge said.

You may well have read the AP version already, or other dry newspaper accounts; check out Salon's Michelle Goldberg great, engaging story about it here. A few great passages:

"Is it really likely someone is going to be confused as to whether Fox News or Bill O'Reilly is endorsing this book?" asked the judge.

. . . the judge pointed out that one of O'Reilly's own books is titled "The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life." "Is that not a play on "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly?'" Chin asked, noting that the movie title is also trademarked.

"I don't know," replied [Fox attorney Dori Ann] Hanswirth.

"You don't know?" asked the judge. . .

[Hanswirth] suggested that, because Coulter is on the cover, "somebody looking at this could determine Ms. Coulter has some kind of official relationship with Fox."

"The President and Vice President are also on the cover, are they not?" asked Chin. "Are consumers likely to believe they are associated with Fox News?"