On his media tour while in the nation's capital, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't exactly stayed on message.
He first said that the "worst is over" for California's economy -- which would be quite a shock to the 2 million-plus residents still officially looking for work.
Then, he raised some hackles among fellow Republicans by saying it was "bogus talk" for GOP leaders to call for starting from scratch on the health care overhaul.
In an interview with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News Channel aired Tuesday night, he added a couple more eyebrow-raisers.
The governor predicted that the Tea Party movement would end up a flash in the pan that will go away once the recession is over.
"I'm just saying they're not going anywhere with it because nobody is coming up and saying, 'Here's our candidate, here's our solution, here's what we're going to do, and have a whole policy debate over the various different issues," he said.
"So this is why I think, in the end, when the economy comes back, I think that the tea party will disappear again."
In the interview, he also expanded immigration reform to include foreign students studying at California campuses.
"I think it's irresponsible in the way to have, you know, our students from all around the world come to our country, study, get their great education," he said.
"I think they should stay here. They should work here. And they should take that knowledge that they have gained in California and put it to good use for California if they're studying here."
UPDATE: Matt David, the governor's communications director, called in to dispute my characterization of his comments on the Tea Party and immigration.
"This is our message," David said.
Click here for a full transcript of the Fox interview.
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