Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will soon be taking his blue pencil to the newly adopted state budget, whacking out $700 million to satisfy demands made by GOP senators.

One of the places he might find to cut is the $20.7 million that remains in the budget for high-speed rail in California. That's a great deal less than the $100 million or so that's really needed to keep the project moving, but it's the bare minimum required to keep it alive.

If the governor cuts it, that's effectively the end of the high-speed dream for a state that so desperately needs it.

The governor has mouthed the right phrases in praise of high-speed rail -- most notably in this commentary written for The Bee in May -- but his actions have belied those positive sentiments. Now we may be on the verge of finding out the truth -- and it could be ugly.