Hail to the Chief!
Posted on 02/22/2004 10:18:11 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Sunday that he backs a modification of the U.S. Constitution's 22nd Amendment that would allow him to run for president one day. Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about an amendment introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch that would allow any immigrant who has been a citizen for 20-years to serve as president, the Austrian-born Republican at first joked, "Man, I should look at that because it sounds really good." But when asked if he agreed in principle with the Hatch proposal, Schwarzenegger responded, "Oh, absolutely. "I think that, you know, times have changed," he explained. "I think this is now a much more global economy. I think that there's so many people here in this country that are now from overseas, that are immigrants, that are doing such a terrific job with the work, bringing businesses here and all this, that there's no reason why [they couldn't be president]. Schwarzenegger, who became a citizen in 1983, cited contributions made by other naturalized citizens like Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, saying, "There's many, many, many people here that have worked within the government and have done an extraordinary job and not have been born in America."
Hail to the Chief!
Unless the reporter got the quote wrong, Arnold's call for changing the 22nd to let him run would be a pretty good illustration of why we don't let foreigners run for President.
Agree. Even hypothetically if Arnie turned out to be a stellar conservative as Governor, changing the Constitution to allow foreign-born naturalised citizens to become President opens the way for a potential disaster.
No way. Uh-uh.
It's more easier for them to argue expediency than go through the long amendment process. A process the Liberals have lost like that abomination - the 'Equal Rights Amendment'.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Arnold Schwarzenegger, making his Sunday talk show debut as governor, said that he and other foreign-born citizens should be eligible to run for the White House and that President Bush can carry California in November if he does more to help the state.
The Austrian-born former bodybuilder said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he hasn't thought about running for president himself. But he said anyone who has been a U.S. citizen more than 20 years - as he has - should "absolutely" be able to seek the presidency.
A constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would make that possible.
"There are so many people in this country that are now from overseas, that are immigrants, that are doing such a terrific job with their work, bringing businesses here, that there's no reason why not," said Schwarzenegger, who became a U.S. citizen in 1983.
"Look at the kind of contribution that people like Henry Kissinger have made, Madeleine Albright," he said, referring to two former secretaries of state who were born in Europe.
As for running himself, Schwarzenegger told host Tim Russert he's been too busy with California's problems to contemplate it. "I have no idea, I haven't thought about that at all," he said.
Schwarzenegger repeated his opposition to gay marriages taking place in San Francisco, saying Mayor Gavin Newsom's refusal to obey the state's law against same-sex marriages could set a bad precedent. On Friday, Schwarzenegger, who said he supports domestic partnership rights, announced he had directed California's attorney general to take action to stop the marriage spree.
"In San Francisco it is license for marriage of same sex. Maybe the next thing is another city that hands out licenses for assault weapons and someone else hands out licenses for selling drugs, I mean you can't do that," Schwarzenegger said. "We have to stay within the law. There's a state law that says specific things, and if you want to challenge those laws then you can go to the court."
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is in Washington to attend the National Governors Association winter meeting. It's his first visit to Washington since he was sworn in as governor. He and other governors will meet with President Bush, Schwarzenegger's first meeting with the president since taking office.
Schwarzenegger campaigned during last year's recall election on a pledge to be "the Collectinator" and get more money for California from the federal government. The budget Bush sent to Congress this month did little to help the state, but Schwarzenegger said he did not feel let down by the president.
He said Bush can win California in November - if he does more to assist the state financially. Bush lost California by 1.3 million votes to Al Gore.
"If the federal government does great things for California this year I think there's no two ways about it, that President Bush can have California, he can be elected, I'm absolutely convinced of that," Schwarzenegger said.
"I think it is totally directly related to how much he will do for our state, there's no two ways about it. Because Californian people are like a mirror, you know that what you do for them they will do back for you."
Later Sunday, Schwarzenegger was to meet with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to discuss Medi-Cal. Schwarzenegger wants a waiver from the federal government allowing California to save money by imposing higher fees and premiums.
Schwarzenegger also has meetings scheduled with members of California's congressional delegation, with his wife's uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the powerful chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He was expected to use the meeting with Stevens to push for more money to pay for incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.
On Tuesday Schwarzenegger heads to New York, where he will meet with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, an economic adviser, and attend two fund-raisers.
One, hosted by Gov. George Pataki and Robert Wood Johnson IV, will raise money for Propositions 57 and 58, the measures on the March 2 ballot that would authorize $15 billion of borrowing and require balanced budgets and a reserve fund in the future. The fund-raiser sparked controversy because top ticket prices were initially set at $500,000.
The second fund-raiser is to raise money for the New York County Republican Committee.
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