In California's rule-by-referendum, the governor and state legislators have long been of limited influence. The recall campaign that is — finally — coming to a conclusion has further demeaned the governor's office into something resembling a civic ducking stool. Time and hope remain for voters to defy recent polls and reject the recall of Gov. Gray Davis as a sorry indulgence.

Before the vote, however, we may be forced into a few more romps through the stranger-than-fiction story of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the front-running movie actor whose emerging history of boorish behavior is providing conclusive evidence of the mischief the recall has loosed.

It was bad enough that Mr. Schwarzenegger, heralded as the unpolitician, ducked public forums, steeped himself in simplistic declamations on the state's complex problems and titillated followers with tired movie one-liners. But now Mr. Schwarzenegger has had to acknowledge there is some truth to the complaints that he has abused and bullied women across his career. After trying blanket denials, he had to respond to detailed accusations of groping and humiliating women.

Mr. Schwarzenegger offered a curiously shifting mix of denial and apology in admitting he "behaved badly." His performance suggests that if voters opt for misfortune on Tuesday, the Schwarzenegger incumbency will be preoccupied with more tedious disclosures about the people's choice.

This weekend, Mr. Schwarzenegger is broadcasting a commercial featuring Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York mayor. In what seems like crass trafficking in the 9/11 tragedy, Mr. Giuliani intones, "Sometimes history thrusts upon people roles they never thought they would have." It seems a bit strange that the campaign chose to have Mr. Giuliani remind the voters that Mr. Schwarzenegger is running his candidacy more like an actor publicizing a new movie than a man seriously offering himself as a potential chief executive of the nation's most populous state.

But California has managed to paint itself into a corner, one initiative at a time, until the governor has little power to fix any of its problems. The idea of choosing an action figure may have seemed like fun at one point. Now the entire recall process is coming to look like a very bad script.