Can anyone really envision Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a lowly junior senator out of California, plodding through hours of filibusters and appropriations hearings, stuck on Capitol Hill without a cigar tent?

Neither can Schwarzenegger.

The former action-movie star declared Friday he has "really no interest in that at all," speaking at a Silicon Valley Leadership Group luncheon in San Jose.

When registered voters were asked to imagine a contest between Schwarzenegger and Sen. Barbara Boxer, 44 percent chose the Republican governor and 43 percent opted for the three-term incumbent Democrat, a Field Poll showed this week. It fueled more speculation the governor might challenge Boxer in 2010.

But Schwarzenegger laughed off the thought Friday. He didn't seem to mind a recent Boxer fundraising solicitation in which the Democrat warned donors, "the media is already hyping a certain governor's possible bid for my Senate seat in 2010."

"This way she can raise more money when she says, 'That Schwarzenschnitzel, he's after me, he's after me, oh, my God, we've got to raise a lot of money!'" Schwarzenegger said. "That's what this is all about. So, no, I have really no interest in that at all."

Boxer officials had no comment.

The governor will be forced to leave his Sacramento office in January 2011, thanks to term limits. Some combination of political punditry, whispers around the Governor's Office and Democratic fears whipped up the Sen. Schwarzenegger frenzy after he easily won re-election last fall.

At the time, the governor told NBC News, "I'm not ruling anything out, but I'm not really thinking about any of that." His answer Friday was the furthest he's gone to quash the idea he'd run for Senate.

"It's irresistible gossip, but it never made much sense from Schwarzenegger's end," said Dan Schnur, a GOP consultant and former communications director for Gov. Pete Wilson. "He's the kind of person who thrives on being in charge. Being one out of 100 in anything just isn't something that would interest him."

There's also that whole problem of commuting to Washington when he has a perfectly fine mansion in Brentwood. As governor, he flies an hour from home to Sacramento and stays at the Hyatt Regency across from the Capitol.

"Flying 300 miles to Sacramento is one thing, but flying 3,000 miles every week to listen to (Sen.) Robert Byrd talk about Cicero doesn't sound like action, action, action," Schnur said.

Some have speculated that after serving as California governor, Schwarzenegger might opt to run another ungovernable domain with wacky politics: Los Angeles. But Schwarzenegger said Friday he's not interested in that job, either.

Of course, Schwarzenegger has been known to change his mind. In 2003, some of his closest friends thought he was appearing on the "Tonight Show" to dispel rumors that he was going to run for governor. Yet here we are four years later with Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Even that almost never happened, Schwarzenegger explained Friday. He said first lady Maria Shriver was "depressed" after he told her he wanted to run for governor one night while they were sitting in a Jacuzzi.

"In all seriousness, she had tears coming down her eyes; that's how she responded to it," Schwarzenegger said. "She was very upset. So I had to work on her for 14 days. That's where I learned negotiating, how to bring Democrats and Republicans together, right in the Jacuzzi."

Schwarzenegger said Shriver had spent much of her life trying to get away from the political spotlight she endured as a member of the Kennedy family. He joked that Shriver married him because he was a bodybuilder, perhaps the furthest thing from a budding politician.

Regarding state business, the governor said he remained hopeful that he and lawmakers can strike deals on universal health care and a water bond despite an ongoing stalemate nearly two months into special sessions on both topics.

While Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, said this week that a health care agreement must be reached by Thanksgiving, the governor seemed to expand the time frame available for reaching deals.

"Well we just have bridged over from October to November," Schwarzenegger said. "So when I look at my calendar, there's still two months left."