Tongue-tied Arnie takes hits from left and right

[dArKeR]

Hasta la vista to the political honeymoon. Four days after after his gubernatorial campaign in California opened to better reviews than any of his films ever did, Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday came face to face with political reality when he was attacked from the left for being too naive and from the right for being too liberal.

The 56-year-old actor embarked on a quick-fire round of TV interviews aimed at capitalising on his already stratospheric ratings in the campaign to take the most powerful office in the nation's biggest state - Governor of California.

But instead of momentum the appearances produced a succession of awkward moments as he was asked to explain his political views.

Pressed on a range of issue that are certain to feature prominently in the run-up to the vote on 7 October - gay marriage, health services, the fiscal crisis facing California - Schwarzenegger was forced to deny a policy statement attributed to his staff or revert to the time-honoured formula of the candidate under pressure: 'I don't want to go into that right now.'

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=18587

I don't understand why Davis doesn't accuse Cheney, Lay and Enron of conspiracy to defraud CA?

http://darkerxdarker.tripod.com/

[Flubadubya]

1. 'I don't want to go into that right now.'

Well Mr. Schwarzenegger, just how much time do you think you have "to get into that"? Seems to me the recall election is less than a few weeks away. Hah! And someone tried to chide me yesterday for insinuating that Ahnie is a little bit "less than intelligent."

[FlaGranny]

29. I don't agree that he is not intelligent.

He got where he is today with brains. I've often been impressed by his intelligence. He certainly doesn't show it in his acting ability, and he seems a beginner at real politics, and I probably do not agree with much he believes in, but the man is bright and shrewd. I have no doubts in his business abilities, but we certainly don't want any more businessmen running the country or a state, especially republican businessmen.

[northzax]

40. yeah, that Planet Hollywood thing was a banger

wasn't it?

or does that not count on his business ledger? in fact, can anyone point me to a successful venture he's been involved in that does not involve his celebrity?

[fishnfla]

2. He has only voted in 2 of the past 8 elections?

I dont think this guy has really thought this out fully. There is a story over at Drudge that claims Arnie was gonna bow out of the race on Leno's show, but changed his mind at the very last minute.

[dArKeR]

9. That's the same voting record as Cheney. Which didn't get much media

attention.

[ronnykmarshall]

37. Leno

I think that Riordan was broadsided big time by Arnie's announcement.

The big buzz around LA was that he was NOT going to run, but I still could not understand why the big fuss to be on The Tonite Show if he was not running.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. I thought this paragraph was particularly interesting . . .

"The media took his advice and within a couple of hours turned up the embarrassing allegation that the actor had voted in only two of the last eight statewide elections."

TWO out of the last EIGHT statewide elections?????? On location were you, Arnie? Ever heard of an ABSENTEE BALLOT?

[Lithos]

4. Arnold is the "none of the above" candidate

Only problem is his support base is probably the most apathetic in terms of actually getting out to vote. So while he has 25% of the polling support, I would imagine his active support is much less.

[soup]

5. One more reminder that truth is stranger than fiction.

The article mentions that polls suggest he can win on name recognition.

Can famous Arnold really win the brass ring in this circus? and - if he does, is that in itself egregious enough for a recall?

[JCMach1]

8. Ahhnull has no where to go but DOWN in the polls

as soon as left coasters learn he's not a Democrat or a Green. Also, the more he opens his mouth the more of a dipstick he will prove himself to be.

[PaDUer]

6. Interesting how he..

suddenly has earphone trouble when asked a question he doesn't want to respond to when he's being interviewed on news channels...I really wonder where he's coming from..Does anyone know what the relationship w/ Ted Kennedy and Arnie is? Does anyone know how his wife Maria is registered?

[Art_from_Ark]

13. He's just showing what he learned from the first air-headed

actor-governor of California, Ronald Reagan

[Uzybone]

39. Dont know about

the relationship between Teddy and Arnold but I know Maria is a registered Democrat

[ElsewheresDaughter]

7. 1st question CA leftcoasters MUST ask Ahhnuld.....

What was the purpose and substance of the May 11, 2001 meeting with then-Mayor Richard Riordan, former junk bond king Michael Milken, and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Lawmakers should obtain the materials Ken Lay provided at that meeting.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

16. This meeting...

what happened in it and why the HELL was Arnie meeting with Kenny Boy Lay????

There was some real REICH WING dirty dealing I'll bet!

[UTUSN]

10. Haha, Muscle-bound Tongue

The way he pretended not to hear Matt LAUER asking a question about SUBSTANCE-----what acting!

[TahitiNut]

11. Conan Redux?

How long before James Earl Jones weighs in against Conan?



Or would it be "Star Wars Redux"??

[Myra]

35. Hey

James Earl Jones has some class.
He wouldn't make a fool of himself the
way Ahnold does.

[salin]

12. Will Ahnald make it through the race?

He seems to be taken aback by certain questions - and they aren't the really ugly ones. Ear piece not working on question of tax returns? Was he just out to lunch during the last gubinatorial election (just 10 months ago) when this same issue created misery for Simon?

As the muck grows - will he be thin or thick skinned? Is the Rove machine being more honest with Arnie about the realities of such a campaign? Clearly they (Roveco) weren't so honest in their dealings with Issa (who I would bet was enticed to pay the bill for recall in the first place, then strong armed out). Sounds like Maria Shriver was trying to warn Arnie of the dangers of such a race - so he should have a sense of what is coming - but it is not clear to me that he is really ready for what is coming down the pike.

In one of the muck articles linked in GD hollywood folks describe the sheltering the Arnie gets against bad pr related to his wandering hands and unsavory comments to women. Perhaps he like the man squatting in the Wh, has been protected for so long that he presumes that cloak of protection will always be there.

When that is not the reality - will he even stay in the race? I guess the question really is - how thick of a skin does Arnie have?

[Rose Siding]

14. Davis has been unraveling the energy mess in court

He can't accuse Cheney without his energy papers.

But an even bigger battle looms- Davis' defense of the CA legislation to raise fuel efficiency standards against Bush (big oil), the auto makers. CA's the only one that could initiate that kind of legislation because of some "clean air" technocality.

If CA were to win, how long before the country followed? Who would lose?

EVERYONE wants to use less oil. That's the central economic and national security/foreign policy issue, isn't it?

Will Arnie pursue that litigation? Davis has been doing the highest stakes battle with the biggest guns BushCo has available.

But CA finds Davis "cold". It's just crazy.

[TomNickell]

15. "Every bit as good a Governor as he was an actor' /eom

[Sideways]

17. Arnie Picks Pete Wilson As Campaign Manager

:wtf: Also Arnie was a big supporter of Wilson's failed Prop 187. This is a really big blunder for Arnie. One of many I predict. I will be quite surprised to see Arnie going the distance here. I think he will drop out in about four weeks.

BTW on Late Edition Dennis K just accused Cheney, Lay, and Enron of conspiracy to defraud CA. Dennis said "they lied" and CA and Davis are paying the price.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

18. Mom just told me about Wilson as manager...

and Arnie's support for Prop 187 -- the Prop that killed Wilson on election day.

Man, Davis out to beat that like a drum!

With that information out there and Cruz in the race, Latino voters will be hitting the polls just like they did to oust Wilson.

That is GOOD news for the anti-recall folk, IMO.

[TahitiNut]

20. (Hmmm...) Immigrants good, colored immigrants bad?

:puke:

[robbedvoter]

23. It's the aryan immigrants who should prevail, silly!

The Uberimmigrant!

[xxqqqzme]

19. this entire recall mightmare

has rove's fingerprints all over it. If arnie was serious about having a political career, he should have waited to run in a non-manufactured election cycle. This recall was and continues 2 B about having an 'insert any name here'(R-CA) as governor so when the voting machines give CA's electoral votes 2 squatter in '04. There will B rational rhetoric applied - 'well, there IS a rethug governor'. This is all about screwing CA voters just like the rest of the country.

[Pompitous_Of_Love]

21. His tongue isn't tied

Ahh-nuld isn't going to anwer substantive questions. He isn't going to show his real personality. To make his celebrity work in this race, he has to remain a blank canvas that California voters can project their various wishes and hopes onto. That can only happen if Ahh-nuld does his tough-guy shtick and takes absolutely no stands on any issue. If he does become governor, we will have a very definite benchmark of how gullible the average California voter is.

[Guaranteed]

22. Once the novelty wears off...

"The polls suggest the actor's name recognition will carry him to victory but most observers believe the gap will narrow as voters begin to focus on policy." Yeah the "shock and awe" is going to wear off in a few weeks, then he'll be finished.

[grasswire]

24. maybe that's Rove's plan

Maybe the plan is for Arnold to grab the headlines day after day for a few weeks, giving cover to Bush and Iraq.

Maybe the plan all along was for Arnold to play politician for a few weeks and then drop out after a few weeks.

[rocktivity]

32. Arnie as a weapon of mass distratction from Bush?

A distraction from the "real" candidates, certainly. But from Bush? He's too tongue-tied, inarticulate, self-possessed, unknowledgeable and evasive to do that!

rocknation

[Gloria]

25. Lawrence O'Donnell on McLaughlin Group said that Arnie's poll nos. will

peak this week, then drop. He was the only one on the panel who really was firm in his opinion that Arnie wouldn't make it. Eleanor Clift said that with a gun to her head, she would say that Arnie could win. Blankely
said it was Arnie's to lose and we'd know in two weeks where everything stood.

O'Donnell was a little nervous about saying what he said, however....

[koopie57]

26. I heard he was running as

the People's Candidate. Isn't that the same campaign slogan Aunt Bee had in the old Andy Griffith show? By the way, she was intelligent enough to realize she was not qualified for the job. I suspect Arnold's ego won't allow that to happen.

[JohnyCanuck]

27. All Arnie has to do

Is say to the press, "Look, I realize I know jack shit about running a state and being a governor, but I'll surround myself with the best advisers PNAC can supply and use their experience and knowledge to guide me in making any important decisions."

We all know that line of reasoning has proven quite satifactory to the media whores on a previous occasion. Can't see why it won't work for Arnold's campaign too.

[underpants]

30. Arnie is already running into trouble w/ the far right and Latino/Asians

The far right will probably support Simon or Ueberroth as Arnie is pro-choice, pro-gay rights and was against the Clinton Impeachment.

He announced this weekend that he voted FOR Prop 187 and the ever so wise CokeHead Roberts said on NPR he won't be able to play up his immigrant history with them now.

[Pert_UK]

28. Even the Australian news is covering this....

I was watching on Saturday (I think) and they basically did a short section on their "world news" which showed Arnie dodging questions about his tax returns by pretending that the sound link was broken.

The news said that this was a tactic that had been used by previous Repugs like Ronald Reagan...

Ho ho.

P.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

31. God Bless the Foreign Press....

We finnally hear the truth about these damn Reich wingers!!!

[Undemcided]

33. Arnie is a bad joke.

Maybe he's just looking to spin this into a movie sometime.

[chromotone]

38. "The Governator" with multiple sequels...

No doubt he will campaign in environmentally conscious California in his Hummer...

[depakid]

34. He's going to be the media's little darling, though

just like Reagan was... he's going to get more free and easy coverage than the rest of the candidates combined, not to mention that he's hooked up with a major PR machine and has money to burn.

I think he may be tough to beat-

[Undemcided]

36. Film?

Tongue-tied Arnie takes hits from left and right

Wasn't that the title of the porno film he appeared in? :evilgrin: