Maybe star power helps. It usually does.
But I saw pix of Arnold at the surfer beaches campaigning. That's a whole new voter base. I'd call it grunt work.
And I saw McClintock in the debates. Ain't no "star power" there. The only less charismatic person on the planet is Grey Davis.
Arnold can walk precincts and do grunt work. McC can't get a "charisma" injection.
First we had elected representation, then we got the ballot measure process, then we got political correctness and leftist media domination and finally, political consultants/handlers/PR "experts."
Then at the same time we got career politicians and then pensions for public officials along with citizens with apathy settin in, so we got term limits on the ballot, but they've found ways around that.
So then we git "citizen politicians" like Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura and now Arnold Schwarzenegger and a whole raft of citizens on the Recall ballot.
Now, to keep this short, politicians have become blander and blander so they don't upset anybody so they can vest their pensions, so they don't really DO anything, right? They don't dare and we get bores like Gray Davis on the left and yes, like Tom, on the right... blander than heck!!!
The people, meanwhile, sit on their asses and watch Celebrity Justice, Entertainment Tonight and SPORTS, right? Then all of a sudden the electeds, who long ago delegated most all of their authority to bureaucrats who also hire consultants galore to cover their asses, get caught in tryin to buy too many votes with too many programs with a sudden drop in their "revenue stream" since all their "programs" are driving business into the dang ground.
Now, all this time, guys like Tom can't even get 10 second sound bites on the six o'clock news (which has become liberal entertainment instead of actual "news") and can only find enough conservative Repellicans out in the rural areas to listen to his warnings at the Republican Womens Luncheon where they're planning their next group trip to shop at Nordstrom's, right?
So... All of a sudden, when what Tom's been yelling at the top of his non-amplified (acoustic is all conservatives ever git) lungs suddenly starts happening... And somebody actually funds a Recall qualification effort and people who have to be paid start gathering signatures because all the volunteers are down in the city shopping at Nordstrom's instead...
All of a sudden, here come the Celibrity Opportunist who hasn't said much, to jump on this exciting new bandwagon and bump the slogging conservative off the stage because he supposedly has no chance to win because he hasn't had theatrical training which is danged important to get the attention of those watching Celebrity Justice, Entertainment Tonight, etc...
So then, we get what Minnesoda got. Another Jesse Ventura style "citizen politician" who has never actually had to get anything past the grinding process in the Crapitol, or implemented through the beligerent bureaucrazy that must deal with the civil service system and the government employees union who bich as a way of life!!!
By the time the "citizen politician" steps on enough toes to actually get anything done, the activists, lobbyists, unionist, consumerists, environmentalists, to say nothing of the opposing party and their media suck-ups will shine their spotlighting spin machine on your charismatic celibrity hero and make him miss the entertainment world so badly that he will only serve one term!
Then the whole thing will go immediately back to what it was before and the people that DID actually get involved will have won a very hollow victory, indeed! At least Tom's insider knowledge will give him a chance to spring into action and surgically carve away at the grotesque fat because he knows up close and personal, right where it's at!!!
He could even be better than Reagan, who at least studied the situation before jumping into the race with his charisma. Yes, Tom needs help with theatrics and needs to smile more and stop coming off as dour, or so intense, but yet, maybe that's what the people want right now is someone who's not going to be constantly playing to the press and the cameras and getting our governmental engine "leaned out" and hitting on 4 cylinders, even if there used to be 8!!!