Believe us, there were plenty of signs around the office today keeping it real about the country's current financial situation. But pound-for-pound, little else has brought it home quite the way Arnold Schwarzenegger has, with the governor actually sending a letter yesterday to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson asking for $7 billion to cover California's "short-term expenses." In other words, the man who built his political career on the backs of unkillable icons from the Terminator to Conan to Mr. Freeze the freaking Running Man is pacing the halls of the Capitol wondering how he'll pay almost 300,000 teachers:

"Absent a clear resolution to this financial crisis that restores confidence and liquidity to the credit markets, California and other states may be unable to obtain the necessary level of financing to maintain government operations and may be forced to turn to the Federal Treasury for short-term financing," Schwarzenegger said in a letter to Paulson dated October 2 and provided to Reuters on Friday. "The economic fallout from this national credit crisis continues to drain state tax coffers, making it even more difficult to weather the continuation of frozen credit markets for any length of time," Schwarzenegger said.

Or, in the soothing words of State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, "Paralysis lingers." No shit. We could really go for one of Sarah Palin's winks right now.