7 August 2003

Whatchoo talking about Arnold?

Arnold Schwarzenegger upstaged Gary Coleman and announced on the Jay Leno show that he will be a candidate for governor in the upcoming California recall election. He started his campaign to win the governorship of the largest state in fine Hollywood fashion, blurting out action movie slogans to a cheering television studio audience.
"Do your job for the people or else you're out. It's hasta la vista, baby," Ah-nold said, repeating the Terminator's catch phrase in his famous Teutonic accent.

"I will pump Sacramento up," he said. "I will go to Sacramento, and I will clean house."

Forgive me if I don't leap on to the Arnold for governor bandwagon - I realize millions of Californians and Americans are enthralled with the blockbuster superstar's political foray, but I believe it bothersome, and I'm thankful I am not a California resident. What exactly qualifies the immigrant son of a Nazi stormtrooper to be a state governor? California's dismal problems can't be solved by sci-fi flick quips. Folks will point to Ronald Reagan, Jesse Ventura and other examples where sports stars pursued a second political career. But there was a large gap of time before ascending to the presidency where Reagan performed executive type behavoir, like being president of the screen actors guild.

Sorry but celebrity status and treasure chests packed with gold doesn't convince me of Schwarzenegger's suitability. And his boast that "I don't need to take money from anyone - I have plenty of money myself." is a hollow cry as he, no doubt, will serve nothing more than a front man token for a small group of ideological extremists to wreak more devastation on a state that is already reeling.

Comments

One thing to consider is that Arnold is more of a centrist than anything else. Take, for example, his involvement in Proposition 49 last year which expanded afterschool opportunities for children. So yes, he is a Republican, but he's more of a moderate problem-solver than anything else. It's up to him promote his involvement in Prop 49. Personally, I don't think he's gotten enough credit for it.