President Bush, right, shake hands with Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, during a meeting at Cisco Systems in San Jose, Calif., Friday, April 21, 2006.
Posted on 04/22/2006 9:58:53 AM PDT by FairOpinion
President George W. Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put aside their differences in a show of Republican solidarity on Friday after Bush approved federal help to shore up the state's fragile levee system.
"He is a really interesting man," Bush said of his fellow Republican. "He didn't have to run for office, but chose to do so and I admire that in you, I admire somebody who doesn't always take the comfortable way in life."
Bush issued a directive clearing the way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help with urgently needed repairs on 29 levees in northern California. The work is scheduled for completion by November.
Schwarzenegger said that California was rebounding economically, spoke of the necessity for the United States to remain competitive in a global economy and praised Bush's "brilliant" ideas for boosting research and development.
The president's plan would double government funding for basic research in the physical sciences, train thousands of new science and math teachers and extend a popular tax credit businesses can receive for investing in research and development at a 10-year price tag of $136 billion.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Does anybody have to run for office?
"Does anybody have to run for office?"
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Some people, like Clinton had nothing, except what he got from the government, so for him to get fame and fortune, running for office, and getting elected was the ticket. A lot of politicians run for office, not to help the state or the country, but the help themselves.
The point about Arnold was the he already achieved fame and fortune. He is one of the very few people who really ran for office to give back and help CA.
Additional detail:
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4801156
The fragile state of the California levee system has apparently won an unusual concession from the Bush administration.
The Associated Press has learned that President Bush will issue a waiver to let the Army Corps of Engineers accept state money for emergency repairs on the levees.
A senior Bush administration official says the president doesn't plan to grant a federal disaster declaration when he meets with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this afternoon.
But the official says the president has agreed to let about 23 (m) million dollars in California money to go to the corps to start repairs this summer and fall.
A state official says California thinks of it as an advance down payment for the levee work and expects federal reimbursement.
President Bush, right, shake hands with Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, during a meeting at Cisco Systems in San Jose, Calif., Friday, April 21, 2006.
A state official says California thinks of it as an advance down payment for the levee work and expects federal reimbursement
LOL! Dream on.
Very true F.O.
My read is the same. He is simply and humbly grateful to the country and state that gave him a "chob" and all the "golden" opportunies. As he says, you work hard and play by the rules, you will succeed.
I am NOT biased at all in this....truly, I'm not. 
He is one of the very few people who really ran for office to give back and help CA.
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LOL.. Yeah Right!
Help California become even more controlled by special interests, the gLBTers, the Greens, the New Majorityites,, and all while silencing the conservative grassroots that are the heart of the Ca GOP.
You're in prime form today, FO,, spinning away.. That bike ride sure did a lot for your creative writing skills. ;-)
You put in a "?" in the url address. I deleted it and voila -- Arnie and George.
GREAT pic.
Thanks -- I usually copy and paste the link, sometimes it happens that I miss part of it in the copy and paste, or some other character "sneaks in".
Both President Bush and Arnold have to thread lightly and balance politics with what they want to accomplish.
President Bush undestands the dynamics of CA, that's why he focused on things of interest to the people in CA:
"His (Pres. Bush's) official events are specifically pitched at issues of particular interest in the state -- technology, energy and the environment.
Bush tours the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento on Saturday, coinciding with Earth Day and giving him an opportunity to talk about rising gas prices."
Bush and Arnold both know that 2/3 of people in CA are NOT Republicans, so you have work with what you've got.
What happened between 1988 (1980-88, RR) and 2004 when California went from GOP (RED) to an ultra-liberal, left wing, blue-coast, red valley state?
What did the Dems do right and what did the GOP do wrong?
"What did the Dems do right and what did the GOP do wrong?"
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That's the million dollar question. BUt it looks like there were already more Dems in the 80-2, jut RR was able to impress them enough to vote for him.
Here is an interesting historical registration numbers found and posted by calcowgirl. (My lack of html skills won't allow me to post the table, but it's quite interesting.)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1572980/posts?page=43#43
In 1930 73% were R-s, in 1936, only 38%. Quite a dramatic change -- I guess the Dem giveaways swayed people.
In 1980 only 34.7% R-s which is just barely more than what is today. I htink the Dems have become more ideological today, the "heck with the state, as long as we get power", while the "old style" Dems, with all their misconceptions, put the wellbeing of the state and country ahead of politics.
Today's Demographics:
CALIFORNIA VOTER AND PARTY PROFILES
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/JTF_VoterProfilesJTF.pdf
"The Democratic Party currently has an advantage of 1.4 million voters over the Republican Party (7.1 million to 5.7 million) or 9 percentage points (43% to 34%), according to the Secretary of State.
Among those most likely to vote in this year’s elections, Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 7-point margin (44% to 37%), while 15 percent of likely voters are registered as independents.
... the fact that independents are more likely to lean toward Democrats than Republicans (42% to 28%) tends to work to the disadvantage of the GOP in statewide elections."
I see you are refining your work a bit.. altho it does seem to be pretty much the same pap, but maybe a little more fiocused.
Good luck, most that have followed you and your' "career" here at FR will see you for what you are, a tool for the New Majority and it's dem Lite agenda.
And to think , you are doing it all at a conservative forum, saving us from ourselves, huh? lol
Nawww.. there is not a word to describe what you and some others here are supporting , all in the name of what you seek to portray as a new era of participative politics, a moderate approach to growing a party, one that has been effectively shanghaied, where voices are silenced and platform planks are chucked like so much rubbish, all to just win and screw the details. The elite don;t worry about details, they have underlings to do that 'work' for them.
Is this the only way Republicans will support Republicans any more? By having Daddy Big Bucks Bush offer more and more federal money for STATE problems?
So much for reducing debt, state or federal.
Well, do you think the levees should not be repaired?
Is there a law requiring that levee repairs have to be made with borrowed money?
The president's plan would double government funding for basic research in the physical sciences, train thousands of new science and math teachers and extend a popular tax credit businesses can receive for investing in research and development at a 10-year price tag of $136 billion.
Ain't that just peachy! Big spenders praising big spenders.
What happened to the party of smaller government and fiscal responsibility?
I guess you are a Bush-hater too, in addition to being an Arnold-hater.
I guess you think government should not be held accountable and have no concept of the definition of "hatred."
Merely pointing out that they are both big spenders is fact, not hatred.
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