Will Schwarzenegger endorse Whitman, and should she want him to?

Sacramento Bee ^ | 6/19/10 | David Siders

[SmithL]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he is not sure he will endorse either candidate bidding to succeed him.

If he does, he said after last week's primary elections, it will not necessarily be Republican Meg Whitman, his party's nominee.

Not that she has asked. Or that the governor's endorsement would be helpful, anyway.

Even when he was popular, Schwarzenegger's star power did not always rub off on fellow Republicans. Now, with his public approval rating foundering and the Capitol gridlocked over a $19.1 billion deficit, some strategists and campaign watchers say his endorsement, if he offers it, could hurt.

"Meg's going to have to think long and hard about whether she wants to be associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Bruce Cain, a University of California, Berkeley, political science professor and director of the University of California Washington Center. "Her job is not only to seem different from (Democratic nominee) Jerry Brown, but to seem different from Arnold Schwarzenegger."

An endorsement from Schwarzenegger, Cain said, could be a liability, reminding voters "that they already tried somebody who was a neophyte and who was going to shake up government."

[SmithL]

Why not? RINOs of a feather, flock together, and Meg has already started her trek back to the left.

[A CA Guy]

She went from raging immigration reformer and wall builder to official greeter of illegals last I heard.

I think she may cause a lot of people to sit out and get the Democrat elected the way she is going.

[donna]

Will Schwarzenegger endorse Whitman, and should she want him to?

Why not, they are clones of each other.

[cranked]

Schwarzenegger is about a politically poisonous as Jack Squat Barry is....but yeah, RINO’s of the same feather stick together.

[calcowgirl]

"Meg's going to have to think long and hard about whether she wants to be associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Bruce Cain, a University of California, Berkeley

Huh? She has the same staff, the same contributors, the same handlers, the same puppet masters. What's to think about? She's not only "associated" with him, she's buying the governorship to fulfill his 3rd term.

[oneamericanvoice]

Well said! While I despise her, and volunteered with Poizner, I guess I’ll have to hold my nose & vote for her, because she’s better than Jerry Brown. California can’t take another round of Jerry.