The Governator

Boston Herald ^ | 6/29/03 | Noelle Straub

[LdSentinal]

WASHINGTON - Who would have guess ed that Arnold Schwarzenegger and co-star Jesse Ventura would both someday take the title of their 1987 flick ``The Running Man'' literally?

That's right: Following the lead of The Body, who served a term as governor of Minnesota, Schwarzenegger may jump into the race for the top office in California.

While Schwarzenegger remains coy about his plans, the Republican has said several times in recent months that he would ``love'' to be governor and will run ``if the state needs'' him.

He may get his wish thanks to a ``Total Recall'' effort against Gov. Gray Davis, who has a dismal approval rating fueled by the state's massive budget shortfall and the energy crisis of 2000.

Organizers will need to gather nearly 900,000 signatures by Sept. 2 to force a recall vote on the state's primary day in March. If they submit enough valid signatures by mid-July, it could force a special election this fall instead of next year.

Schwarzenegger is expected to wait to announce whether he will run until after the Wednesday release of ``Terminator 3,'' and only if it becomes clear the recall will succeed.

The action star also has said he'd have to get the permission of his wife, journalist and Kennedy cousin Maria Shriver.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) told the Herald last week that he would support the Democratic candidate over his niece's husband.

Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at Berkeley, said Golden State voters are more intrigued by the Hollywood connection than by the political dynasty anyway.

But Cain predicted a Schwarzenegger run would become an ``enormous curiosity.''

``He could be the next Ronald Reagan or he could self-destruct in a blaze of unseemly revelations about his personal life, habits and marriage,'' he said, referring to a Premiere magazine piece that accused Schwarzenegger of groping women and cheating on his wife.

The ``Last Action Hero'' star threatened to sue the magazine and writer. But media attention on his personal life will only increase if he runs.

Jay Leno introduced Schwarzenegger as ``the next governor'' of California on his talk show last Thursday, and the muscle man appears on the July cover of Esquire with the same label.

Political observers say some voters may reject Schwarzenegger because of the extreme violence in some of his movies.

``I've argued for quite a while that he does have an image problem,'' said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political expert at the University of Southern California. ``Particularly if he wants to represent the party of family values.''

On the plus side, Schwarzenegger does have some political experience in the state. He authored Proposition 49 last year, requiring state grants for California after-school programs, which became law. He also spent the past 10 years heading the National Inner- City Games Foundation, which runs and raises funds for after- school and summer programs for kids.

If he runs, Schwarzenegger will face a host of other Republican candidates on the two-part ballot. All major state Democrats have said they will not run.

Voters would first mark ``yes'' or ``no'' to oust Davis and then pick a candidate to replace him, if he is recalled. If Davis is recalled, whoever wins the largest number of votes will immediately take office.

[backhoe]

a ``Total Recall'' effort against Gov. Gray Davis...

I actually had not thought of that phrase as a tie-in to the recall effort, but it's a natural- if it catches on, Davis is toast.

[backhoe]