SACRAMENTO – It was a watershed moment in his campaign for re-election. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turned to Democratic challenger Phil Angelides during their one and only debate and said: “I can tell by the joy I see in your eyes that you love to raise taxes. Why don't you just say right now, 'I love increasing your taxes?' ”

These days, Schwarzenegger certainly isn't shy about asking taxpayers for more, but it's hard to tell if he gets any joy out of it.

The Republican governor has called for raising $4.5 billion in “fees” – though most people consider them taxes – to help finance his sweeping health care plan that would provide coverage for all Californians...

Len Nichols, health policy director for the New America Foundation, a centrist think-tank, called the governor's plan “visionary.” He said Schwarzenegger learned that a credible plan requires new money.

“This is his moment of maximum political capital: He just won re-election. It's the moment when the nation has been derelict in addressing this issue,” Nichols said. “He's started an adult conversation. The nation needs more of it...”

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