Yes it was his best option and I think he carried it off well in the mind of the average California voter and it was a nonplus for moderate Republicans.
The problem for Schwarzenegger is that he must convince the far right that he is independent of his sponsors because he faces not one, but two major opponents, Bustamante and Davis.
Is there a FReeper in the house who would take on a serious debate on round-the-world TV in a second language, learned AFTER ADULTHOOD? I lived in Switzerland for 9 years and speak fluent German, Swiss-German, and French, and I am not stupid, yet I would not DREAM of being able to debate a few intelligent mother-tongue speakers in ANY of those languages.
Arnold takes on amazing challenges and does a da*n good job at it.