The evidence would indicate that, quite to the contrary, Mr. Schwarzenegger is indeed heavily backed by the Bush
cartel. For Junior to come out now, publicly, and back AHNALD would be the kiss of death to him given how unpopular he is in the state , but to play political chess and distance himself publicly while allowing his operatives to support him privately still achieves the same objective which is take the governor's mansion. This could not be done of course in a one on one election in which their candidate would have to get a majority of the vote but it can be done much more easily with a small plurality on a crowded ballot. Once AHNALD is installed Karl und the boys are betting that AHNALD's support can help narrow Junior's negatives in 2004 and force the Democratic candidate to defend the state and divert resources there. Even if Junior can't win the state they are desperately hoping to force the candidate to divert resources there. AHNALD is no enemy of Junior and no secret friend of Democrats. If he was then he could easily bolster his candidacy by clearly distancing himself from Bush's policies publicly which he has not and will not do.
As this evidentiary news analysis shows:
The White House’s Active Role in the California Recall:
A Partial List of the Evidence
Bush Guru Karl Rove Met With Schwarzenegger in April. Schwarzenegger visited the
White House for a meeting with top Bush adviser Karl Rove on April 12th, 2003. Both
Schwarzenegger and Rove claimed that politics was not discussed during the meeting.
{Washington Post, 4/13/03}
Karl Rove: Possibility of a Governor Schwarzenegger "Would Be Really, Really Nice."
"With Mr. Rove’s blessing," Bush political advisers met with Schwarzenegger in 2001 about
the prospect of Schwarzenegger running for CA governor in 2002. The New York Times
reported on the meeting, "‘That would be nice,’ Mr. Rove said of the prospect of a
Governor Schwarzenegger. ‘That would be really nice. That would be really, really nice.’"
{New York Times, 4/15/01}
Laura Bush’s Press Secretary Helped GOP Candidate Strategize for Recall
Campaign. Noelia Rodriguez, Laura Bush’s press secretary and former LA deputy mayor,
was in Los Angeles for a week in July helping former mayor Richard Riordan assemble a
campaign team and strategy for a possible run on the recall ballot. {Los Angeles Times,
7/31/03; New York Times, 8/1/03}
Top Bush CA Adviser Playing Major Roll in Recall. Gerry Parsky, Bush’s top adviser in
California, has been advising GOP candidates on the recall strategy. The Sacramento Bee
reported, "Bush isn't staying entirely out of the election. His liaison in California,
businessman Gerald Parsky, summoned representatives of potential Republican candidates
to his office Tuesday to discuss how the GOP could help recall Davis." {Sacramento Bee,
7/30/03}
High Level Bush Re-Election Strategist Involved in Recall Effort. Mindy Tucker, who
served as a Bush spokesperson in the 2000 election and is currently a high level Bush
campaign strategist, is involved in the recall election strategy. A memo by a California GOP
campaigner noted, "Mindy Tucker, former Bush campaign spokesperson and current Bush
campaign operative in California, has the White House's blessing…" The same memo noted
that Tucker would be involved in coordinating recall campaign events, and that "the
resulting issue-oriented and image-enhancing coverage will benefit the image of the
Republican Party, the recall candidates, and will benefit President Bush as we remind the
public of who is to blame for the mess in this state." {San Francisco Chronicle, 8/6/03}
Tucker Has Denied White House Involvement, But Alludes to Bush Strategy. Tucker
has claimed that her involvement is not on the part of the White House, but has also said,
"the president has given everybody in California his blessing to take a position on this…"
Tucker has also said, "We've identified some areas where the recall will help us build the
party -- not only for the recall, but also for '04, which everyone believes is important."
{San Francisco Chronicle, 8/6/03}
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/08/08_recall.htmlAlso, with respect to the posted article, as RealFedUp has noted Britain's libel laws are considerably more onerous than ours and he has not chosen to file suit in response to the British article. In my opinion his inaction speaks volumes.