Gay Californians, stung by the passage of marriage-banning Proposition 8, found an unlikely ally this week in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a CNN interview aired Sunday, Schwarzenegger tried to warm the spirits of his gay constituents by talking about his awesomely hard body…

He urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first. "I learned that you should never ever give up… They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."

Schwarzenegger's position toward gay and lesbian citizens has evolved since he referred to his opponents as "economic girlie men." It probably helped that…

* As a man who once gave birth, he knows what it's like to be a little different.

* If they ban gay marriage, who's to say they won't also ban random groping of female aides?

* His uncle-in-law, Ted Kennedy, is the gayest man alive, except for the part about wanting to have sex with other men.

Not to mention that with teachers, nurses, prison guards and straight people in general now opposing Schwarzenegger, the gay vote may be all he has left.