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Posted on 10/04/2003 10:49:22 PM PDT by calcowgirl
POLITICAL MEMO With Rules Redefined, Schwarzenegger Shrugs Off Attacks
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 4 — Arnold Schwarzenegger was in town this week to raise money for his campaign to replace Gov. Gray Davis in Tuesday's recall election. Despite repeated suggestions that Mr. Schwarzenegger would pay his own way to Sacramento, the fund-raiser at the Fairmont Hotel was one of many he has held across the state.
An accompanying news conference was more of a rarity. And the way it unfolded speaks a lot about why Mr. Schwarzenegger is considered the odds-on favorite to become California's next governor, even as he is hounded by accusations of sexual misconduct and reports that he once spoke admiringly of Hitler.
After taking questions from reporters, Mr. Schwarzenegger introduced his friend, the comedian Dana Carvey, who launched into an impression from a "Saturday Night Live" routine. Speaking in a mock Austrian accent, Mr. Carvey declared, "He's 10 percent body fat, but 40 percent in the polls." He then went on to make a joke about Mr. Davis.
End of news conference, with the news media leaving with some questions addressed and the entertainment media with lively videotape of a Hollywood big shot performing at the Arnold show. Mr. Schwarzenegger and his aides were all smiles, despite the shouts of one British reporter, "Is this a campaign or a circus?" The honest answer would have been a simple "Yes."
Ever since Mr. Schwarzenegger declared his candidacy on "The Tonight Show," he has managed to meld the worlds of entertainment and politics in a way that has aroused an apathetic electorate, sustained a genuine media buzz and allowed him to be measured by standards less rigid than those typically applied to politicians.
"Because he is Hollywood, he gets a certain kind of pass," said Arnold Steinberg, a Republican strategist who is not involved in the recall campaign. "There is a different way of judging people. He and his campaign have been able to do a tremendous job in surmounting attacks on his character and inconsistencies."
That was evident in the virulent response of many Schwarzenegger supporters to accusations published on Thursday in The Los Angeles Times, which reported that he had groped and humiliated six women. While avoiding specifics, Mr. Schwarzenegger essentially admitted the essence of the claims.
Callers to talk radio shows across the state, while not suggesting Mr. Schwarzenegger had acted appropriately, said it was small wonder that he had been sexually promiscuous in a work environment where women "were throwing themselves at him," as one caller in San Francisco put it.
Maria Shriver, Mr. Schwarzenegger's wife, also came to his defense, describing him as courageous for confronting the accusations directly.
Davis supporters threw their hands up in exasperation. "With any mortal political candidate, any one of these things would be enough to bring him down," said Garry South, a longtime Davis adviser. "Rush Limbaugh just resigned from ESPN because he made a comment about a quarterback that was racially oriented. This stuff is a lot more serious than that, it seems to me."
Perhaps. But the fact is that Mr. Davis has played a big role in creating Mr. Schwarzenegger's aura of political immortality. Hugely unpopular, Mr. Davis holds little sway with voters trying to gauge the seriousness of Mr. Schwarzenegger's shortcomings. And many of them are so bent on removing Mr. Davis from office that they have become vested in Mr. Schwarzenegger's success.
A Field Poll released on Friday indicated that 60 percent of likely voters who intended to vote "yes" on the recall said they would also vote for Mr. Schwarzenegger. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, and was conducted before the accusations.
"If you look at the polls, it is clear people have settled on Arnold Schwarzenegger as the viable one," Mr. Steinberg said. "Above all, they want to get rid of Davis, and they see him as the strongest challenger."
But the different standard voters apply to Mr. Schwarzenegger extends beyond him getting the benefit of the doubt in a head-to-head comparison with Mr. Davis. It has also allowed the Schwarzenegger campaign to shift course on a number of issues, with little consequence.
He continues to pronounce himself a political outsider, even though his campaign is being run by some of California's most experienced political hands, including former Gov. Pete Wilson. The fund-raiser here is another case in point. Early on, Mr. Schwarzenegger suggested he would pay for his own campaign.
Since then, he has raised more from contributors than any other candidate, with millions of dollars coming from donors with interests in the state. Yet there has been no fallout as Mr. Schwarzenegger spends much of the money on television commercials portraying both Mr. Davis and his chief Democratic opponent on the replacement ballot, Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante, as captives to special interests.
"What happened for Arnold," said Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, "is not that the budget situation has gotten any worse, or people are thinking of the electricity crisis any differently. I think people have been affected by Arnold's ads on wedge issues."
And the message, it seems, is clear to the crucial voters at the center of the political spectrum. Though the crux of Mr. Schwarzenegger's support is among Republicans, the Field Poll showed that more of his backers identified themselves as middle of the road or liberal than conservative.
The poll, which showed Mr. Schwarzenegger with a 10 percentage point lead over Mr. Bustamante among likely voters, indicated that the recall had strong support among people who skipped the election last November or voted for someone other than Mr. Davis or Bill Simon Jr., his Republican opponent.
The Schwarzenegger camp reads the numbers as evidence that those voters who are disaffected from politics as usual see the recall as an opportunity for significant change, a point that even Davis supporters find difficult to dispute. But Mr. Davis's aides still hold out hope that Mr. Schwarzenegger's spell can be broken as independent voters mull over the accusations, and offended Democrats come back to the party fold.
"Everything is wide open," Peter Ragone, a Davis spokesman, said. "Every poll is out the window, every piece of conventional wisdom that has been built up about this campaign is now in doubt."
One crucial unknown is who will show up on Tuesday. Several statewide polls have differed in the definition of likely voters, in large part because there is no precedent for such an election. The Schwarzenegger campaign takes heart in estimates that more than 270,000 new voters registered in September, with anecdotal evidence that many were motivated by the recall.
It remains to be seen, though, whether the infusion of "gutter politics," as Ms. Shriver called the accusations this week against her husband, will have the time-tested effect of negative campaigns of turning off voters, lowering turnout and returning California to the political apathy of a few short months ago.
"Celebrity Triumphs Over Substance"
Because the people allow it to happen...
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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Okay, now it's lawsuit-time.
The New York Times reported this.
They retracted when it was proven untrue.
Now they are using their OWN DISCREDITED REPORTING as an (R)nold slam.
If he doesn't sue the s**t out of them, I just don't know.
N.Y.Times - Mr. Schwarzenegger is considered the odds-on favorite to become California's next governor, even as he is hounded by accusations of sexual misconduct and our reports that he once spoke admiringly of Hitler although we admitted we erred because he really said the opposite but if it's in print then it's a report and now we can say it as often as we want... La-la-la...
Friggin liberal scum liars
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