THIS IS THE FACE of momentum and confidence (maybe too much so), six days before an election: Arnold Schwarzenegger, standing before a few hundred fans and advisors, a few hundred yards from the state Capitol, saying what he’ll do in the first 100 days after he takes the oath of governor. Not if he’s elected next Tuesday–when he’s elected. “We are ready to take office,” the Terminator declared yesterday. “We are ready to take action. We are ready to return California to the people.” Like so many political events involving the world-renowned actor, there wasn’t any huge news value in what Arnold discussed–just a 10-point plan he called “an agenda for governing.” It wasn’t the first time the candidate had pledged to repeal the recent tripling of the state’s car tax, to audit the state budget, or to call a special session of the legislature to make spending cuts. (Arnold did break ground by saying he’d insist upon quarterly reports on the state’s financial health, and he resisted advice to push for a two-year budget.) But all of that means little to a recall press that hangs on the man’s every utterance. Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of success in life is merely showing up; the same could be said for Arnold’s media strategy.

Then again, substance doesn’t matter much at this point in recall. It’s all about style and symbolism down the homestretch. Arnold gave his “100 days” speech at the same Sacramento Memorial Auditorium where Davis first took the oath of office. (Subtle, huh? The “I’ll be back” line just writes itself.) And in this kind of pose-off, no other recall participant can match Arnold Schwarzenegger’s flex appeal.