Posted on 10/28/2004 7:29:17 AM PDT by IndianPrincessOK
Schwarzenegger Says He Won't Travel More for Bush By Adam Tanner, Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 27) - Popular California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Wednesday he spurned White House invitations to campaign more widely for President Bush and has agreed to just one joint appearance.
Such aloofness could prove fatal to an ordinary politician. But the Hollywood superstar and former Mr. Universe, a moderate Republican, didn't seem too worried.
"For me it's a balancing act, of course you know, because if I don't campaign for President Bush, the Republicans will be angry. If I campaign for President Bush the Democrats are angry," he told KTKZ radio in Sacramento.
"I think there is a happy medium which I made very clear. I will not go and travel around the country with the president because my work is here."
Schwarzenegger did travel to the Republican National Convention in August on Bush's behalf in his tight race against Democratic challenger, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
But he said he had to draw the line at campaigning more outside California and after considerable hesitation, agreed to just one appearance in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.
He said he only made his decision on Tuesday.
"We were thinking that we would go and then maybe that we would not go and then we finally decided to go," he told reporters.
Schwarzenegger, a fiscal conservative and social moderate, faces re-election in 2006 in California, a state where Democrats are the dominant party and one that will surely back Kerry.
He came to office through California's unprecedented recall election last year, and has become the party's dominant figure in the nation's most populous state as well as a big draw on the national stage.
Friends say the Austrian-born 57-year-old would ultimately like to be president, and he repeated on Wednesday that he favors a change to the U.S. Constitution to allow foreign-born Americans to be president. Bipartisan support would be necessary for any rare amendment to the Constitution.
Schwarzenegger is married to Maria Shriver, whose uncle was Democratic President John F. Kennedy.
As the law is now, he cannot run for President anyhow.
None if I recall. Bush did not give very strong support to Arnold either during the primary or the actual election. What goes around comes around.
Consider the source, folks...
If he only goes out one time, that will be big news. If he was stumping all week he'd get no attention.
You use your big guns when they do the most use.
the words girlie man come to mind...
I guess we now know who wears the pants in Girlie Man's house !
This is from Rooters and AOL. Trust but verify :)
Hahahaha, no nookie...I like that word.
Uh, Dude, you're a Republican. (I know, never mind...)
You know Arnie, just stuff it. You and your lockjaw ugly Kennedy wife. Bush doesn't need you in Ohio he has a 4 point lead.
I think he should do more for the President and take a stand...he is a Republican...support the party that got you in power.
I completely agree.
As I understand it, Arnold's one joint appearance is one more than Specter has managed in PA; according to Novak, Specter has done nothing for Bush -- and after all the abuse Bush took (on FR anyway) for supporting him in the primary. (Maybe the deal was that Specter wouldn't endorse Kerry???)
Well I'm thrilled the Arnold bashers think this is room for complaint, but he was only going to do one appearance!
This isn't news. And, infact, Arnold doesn't need Republicans. He is one of the rare few that has enough money and star wattage to go it alone and lives in a state hostile to Republicans no less. Yet he showed up at the convention and will stump in a needed state on the eve of an election. He's been more loyal than a number of "Republicans" that DO need the RNC to fund their success.
Don't take me as an Arnold lover, I'm rather neutral about him and have my complaints, but in fairness Arnold deserves some credit here. He is supporting the President, and it DOES bear more meaning because he doesn't have to.
Very true...well said. Arnold is in a particular tough spot and he is stumping in Ohio and knowing that he will take the heat when he returns home to Democrat Cal-e-forn-ya...and Maria....
Arnold buys into the idea that California is a Democrat state, and he behaves accordingly. In fact, Arnold has pretty much avoided campaigning at all this entire election season, except for the ballot propositions he cares about. Our nominally Republican governor only just started campaigning for a few local Republican candidates in the last three weeks — and then only in already pretty safe Republican areas rather than in marginal areas where his support could tip the balance.
HA! Big ole', told ya so, bump.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.