Since the allegations of sexual misconduct and Hitler admiration by California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger have surfaced, his candidacy has resembled nothing so much as the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
I said at the time that Thomas’ confirmation should have focused on his qualifications (or lack of them) to join the highest court in the land, not whether he told Anita Hill he had a pubic hair on his Coke. But those allegations became the central (and really only) issue in his confirmation. That was wrong.
Plus, it became a “Witness for the Prosecution” situation with Thomas. If those irrelevant accusations are discredited, he’s OK to join the court. Well, no.
And with Arnold, I remain amazed that no one – not the press, not the voters – has ever asked, what makes this man qualified to be governor of the most populous state in the union? These allegations against Arnold allow both sides to occupy their time with pointless debates about things like, was his behavior “assaultive” or “playful”? That’s rubbish, frankly, when you’re talking about handing the reins of a huge state with serious problems over to a guy with absolutely zero qualifications other than celebrity.
They did it before.
There is one thing substantial about Arnold that might be relevant to his being governor — long before he became a movie star, he was a business owner. He (and a brother, I think) owned a speciality construction company. His earnings from his first (horrible) movie went into that business. He was a “self made” millionaire by age 30 or so.
That notwithstanding, I suspect the real “qualification” Arnold has are those big shoulders.
He’s actually been involved in politics for years — behind the scenes. I don’t think being a career politician makes one any more capable of running a state or country — though I will admit the last time we elected a Republican actor, it was a total disaster.
If I were a Californian, I’d be more concerned by the fact that A.S. seems to have two ways of behaving towards women — a nice, warm man to his own family (I’m sure he’s a good husband and father) and a pig to women he views as sex objects. Perhaps it’s typical of rich, powerful men to behave this way, but it doesn’t bode well for the people he wants to serve if he treats people he views as respectable and whom he wants to impress one way and people he thinks aren’t worthy of respect in another, totally different way.
I’m not talking about mere affairs — that’s Maria Shiver’s business — but the way he goes about it. Except for Paula Jones, I’ve never heard accusations of this sort against Clinton.
My fingers are crossed that the Democratic majority in CA turns out to snuff this thing out on election day. It kills me that Republicans are overturning elections and that the media is allowing Schwarzenegger a free pass. The spotlight should be on why CA is really in trouble – bad policy by Repubican governor Pete Wilson before Gray Davis, then energy fraud by Enron and its cohors, then horrible federal policy by dubya.
Miss A: How has he been involved behind the scenes? I remember he was on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness or some such, but beyond that I’m in the dark.
Speaking Truth To Power.. glad youre back on
He got some proposition to fund after-school activities passed, and I believe he was involved in Riordan’s gubernatorial bid. Of course it’s not a lot of experience, but he’s been active in the Republican party for a long time.
None of which matters since he’s a total pig.
Take it from an ex-Wisconsinite, now Californian, and recent citizen who has to vote on this mess this coming Tuesday, the reason I’m choosing not to vote for Schwarzenegger isn’t because of the LA times article or the Hitler accusation.
Schwarzenegger’s mistreatment of women has not been a secret even before this recall, so I’m surprised so many thought that the LA times article was a Davis campaign stunt.
Some of the same allegations have been made in an issue of Premiere magazine in 2001. Now there’s just simply more. I think it definitely shows the kind of man he is, but unless something is proven to be a crime in a court of law, I’ll just classify him as an alleged pig and move on. (Of course I fully support any women going after him legally with sexual harassment or battery charges if they think they were assaulted by him)
The Hitler accusation is taken out of context. Arnold is somewhat obsessed with leaving a lasting legacy so he has in the past made some comments about powerful men like Hitler and Jesus (no one bothered to mention the Jesus quote of course). He said he only admired Hitler because of his ability to rise to power from nothing. He has made it very clear he does not agree with Hitler’s actual politics and I believe that.
What most people here consider as his main qualification is his ability to run a successful business. He is, at least on paper, socially liberal (pro gun control, pro gay rights, pro education, pro medical marijuana, pro choice) and fiscally conservative (anti major tax increases). It’s a combo a lot of independents identify with. Think Jesse Ventura in Minnesota.
However, he is NOT an independent. He has surrounded himself with former Pete Wilson staffers and is running with the backing of the Republican party. When it came time to debate his opinions, he backed out. In the only debate he participated in (even after getting the questions in advance), he only had silly one-liners and veiled threats to offer (he basically implied he’d like to dunk Arianna Huffington’s head in the toilet). I had to conclude he either had no defendable opinions or he didn’t know how to defend them and convince others of their validity. How will he do that once in office?
Rather than being a breath of fresh air in CA politics, he has adopted a campaign style that demeans the intelligence of the voting public. He basically said the voters don’t really want to know details, specifics, and facts, and, so far, both the press and the public have been eating it up.
He is the Bush of CA. People are so impressed he can walk and chew gum at the same time, they forget to question what he says. People actually thought he won the single debate he appeared in. I guess he showed up, so why not? If the voting public falls for it, I guess we deserve what we get (http://www.welovearnold.com/). As for me, he has lost both my respect and my vote. After watching him dodge interviews and debates, it seems clear to me that other than being governor, he has no plans for the state or how to help our overburdened economy.
One other thing many may not realize is that Californians have been allowed to vote early in this election. You just had to go down to the county’s registrars office and vote. So many of my friends and co-workers have already voted – even before the last debate aired this Saturday, even before the allegations in the LA times came to surface. If the polls are any indication, Schwarzenegger is pretty much guaranteed to win. If I didn’t just become a US citizen only a year ago, I’d say Canada is looking better and better.
What’s that, you didn’t fit everything into your lengthy comment above? No, actually I just recently came across a NY Times editorial that sums up my feelings perfectly:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/06/opinion/06HERB.html
“If there’s a voter anywhere in the state who thinks this character will spend even a hot minute wrestling with the realities of budgets and such, that person should seek immediate counseling. There’s a reason Mr. Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” He doesn’t want to govern. He just wants to be adored.
Narcissism in its purist form is all-consuming. It leaves little or no room for the consideration of others. Life is all about that special individual: me.
In the quote attributed to him in the book proposal, Mr. Schwarzenegger was unconcerned about the profound differences between a Kennedy and a Hitler. He was interested only in the wild applause, the unrestrained adulation ? and how he might get a taste of that for himself.”
Well said, Emese. My friends and I will be voting against the recall and for Bustamante tomorrow. If Arnold wins, on Wednesday I will be signing the petition to have him recalled.