ah-nold as CA governor?

[kasia]

what do you guys think?

[Green_Circle]

what do you guys think?

My 9 yr old niece endorses him. She's trying to sway my vote. The kiddies(and eveyone else) know him from the movies.

:gamer:

[AngryABCGirl]

no, just.. no

[AliBabaIncorporated]

The only major candidate to mention anything about illegal immigration. Other than that he's a damn lunatic. But when the alternative is Davis/Bustamante, what can you do?

I'm voting with my feet. Get me outta here.

[kboy75]

usually i am a loyal voter for the democratic party.

but i sent in my absentee ballot for arnold last week.

that is all.

[kasia]

Poll: Davis in peril, Schwarzenegger shows strength
Davis replacement for 40 percent asked is Schwarzenegger
Monday, September 29, 2003 Posted: 10:43 AM EDT (1443 GMT)

Head-to-head? A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Sunday indicates that those asked may be in the mood to vote for Gov. Gray Davis' recall -- and Arnold Schwarzenegger as his replacement.


LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Voters in the California recall election might be poised to kick Gov. Gray Davis out and vote Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger in, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Sunday.

When asked how they would vote on recalling Davis, 63 percent of probable voters surveyed said they would vote yes, compared with 35 percent who said they would vote no.

In a separate vote to choose a replacement for Davis, Schwarzenegger was the choice of 40 percent of respondents.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante was the choice for 25 percent of voters polled, Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock received 18 percent.

The poll showed Green Party candidate Peter Camejo with 5 percent and syndicated columnist and independent candidate Arianna Huffington with 2 percent of the respondents' support.

The poll of 787 registered voters has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points. It was conducted over three days from Thursday through Saturday, following Wednesday night's debate among the five leading replacement candidates. (Full story)

The poll used a model for probable voters that assumes about half the state's voting age population will vote on Election Day.

If the poll is an indication of what will happen in the October 7 election, Schwarzenegger could win even if his remaining major Republican rival, McClintock, stays in the race.

GOP leaders have been pressuring the senator to drop out to improve Schwarzenegger's chances of beating Bustamante, the only major Democrat in the field.

Sunday's results are the first CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll numbers in the California recall campaign.

Earlier polls conducted by other organizations have shown a much closer race between Schwarzenegger and Bustamante and less support for the recall.

Schwarzenegger and Davis have been invited to debate on CNN's "Larry King Live." Davis, a Democrat who formally challenged the Republican actor-turned-politician to a debate Friday, accepted. The Schwarzenegger campaign declined. (Full story)

Davis and Schwarzenegger are not running against each other. Voters will first be asked whether Davis should be recalled. They will then pick a replacement from a list of 135 candidates, including Schwarzenegger, who would take over if Davis were removed from office.

The recall was triggered by voter anger over the state's economic and energy situation.

A recent budget agreement between Democratic and Republican legislators in Sacramento eliminated the state's $38 billion deficit through cuts and borrowing, but it created an expected shortfall of at least $8 billion for the next fiscal year.

A former candidate in the race, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, financed much of a successful petition campaign to allow the recall election

[kasia]

Gov. Davis: 'Get your facts straight, Mr. Schwarzenegger'

Gov. Davis will announce in the next two days if he wants to debate Schwarzenegger.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Having avoided the rough-and-tumble debate of those looking to replace him, Gov. Gray Davis challenged Arnold Schwarzenegger to get his facts straight or go head-to-head in a debate of their own.

Davis, who wasn't invited to Wednesday's barb-filled free-for-all between five contenders for his job, emerged unscathed and perhaps a bit more combative Thursday as he resumed his work as governor.

He took jabs at Schwarzenegger, accusing the Republican action star of twisting his record and exaggerating the state's problems.

"I'm going to set the record straight. I'm getting sick and tired of his distortions," Davis said. "If he doesn't set the record straight himself, I may have to debate him."

Schwarzenegger gaining endorsements
A day after his scrappy performance, Schwarzenegger earned endorsements that could provide a key boost to his candidacy with only a week and a half remaining until the election. They also put more pressure on conservative Republican Sen. Tom McClintock to fall in line behind Schwarzenegger's candidacy -- something McClintock has refused to do.

Rep. Darrell Issa, who bankrolled the effort to put the measure on the ballot with $1.7 million, was expected to give the former bodybuilder his endorsement Friday, a Republican source said.

Businessman Bill Simon, who lost the election to Davis last fall and dropped out of the recall race earlier, endorsed Schwarzenegger on Thursday, saying he was the "right man" for the job.

Schwarzenegger also was backed by the California Republican County Chairmen's Association, a group of Republican committee leaders from California's 58 counties. The group, which has ties to grass-roots activists, does not normally endorse.

McClintock was not swayed. He said he planned to keep his word to fight to the end, including a new ad called to be launched Friday.

Schwarzenegger said it wasn't his place to tell McClintock to quit.

"This is a decision that he has to make," he said. "I think it is obviously much better, mathematically speaking, to win when you don't split the vote, and I think it is very important for him to think about that. But I am not going to be the one that pushes him." (Full story)

Debate aftermath
The busy campaign activity came a day after a debate filled with shouting, insults and wisecracks among the leading candidates seeking to replace Davis. The debate frequently turned rowdy, and candidates routinely jumped on top of each other's answers and shouted to be heard.

Some analysts said the raucous atmosphere may have played into Davis' strategy of portraying the recall as a circus while going about the business of leading California.

"I think a substantial amount of viewers probably wanted to take a shower and think this whole recall thing is a big stinky mess," said Marty Kaplan, associate dean at the Annenberg School of Communications, University of Southern California. "Should we empower this group of bickering mudwrestlers? You wanted to vote them all off the island."

Davis on Thursday accused Schwarzenegger of overstating the amount of taxes Californians pay and of wrongly saying a state program for healthy families has been unsuccessful. He also ridiculed Schwarzenegger's Wednesday night performance.

"I did see the last hour of the debate, it looked to me more like a food fight. There was a fellow who's used to reading scripts who had a couple of one-liners and put-downs," Davis said.

Pressed about whether he really planned to challenge Schwarzenegger to debate, Davis said, "I will give you that answer in the next two days. Right now I am saying, 'Get your facts straight, Mr. Schwarzenegger."'

Polls still show most voters want to get rid of Davis, but the momentum appears to be shifting his way. Three polls released in the last eight days have shown support for the recall slipping and Davis' dismal ratings getting better.

Davis campaign officials say the rowdiness of the debate only improved his standing.

Observers said Schwarzenegger's debate performance, while competent and often funny, may have hurt him with women voters, who have not embraced him.

Schwarzenegger repeatedly clashed with independent Arianna Huffington in a way that some analysts called overly aggressive.

"Where this could hurt him is if the exchange becomes a catalyst for discussion about Arnold and women in general," said Arnold Steinberg, a GOP consultant and pollster who is not working for a candidate in the race.

Schwarzenegger's aides dismissed the notion that the bickering was part of a pattern of treating women badly, as Huffington claimed.

"If she's going sit there and be rude and interrupt the debate, she is going to get treated roughly at times," said spokesman Rob Stutzman.

Meanwhile, organized labor kicked their grass-roots campaign into high gear Thursday, spending as much as $5 million on a massive phone bank and door to door effort to fight the recall but promote the backup candidacy of Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

[achtungbaby]

Just curious -- for those of you who voted for Ah-nold or who plan to: why?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Like I said earlier, cuz he's better than the feasible alternatives: Davis or Bustamante. If Arnie had dropped out, I would have voted for McClintock ...

[achtungbaby]

Like I said earlier, cuz he's better than the feasible alternatives: Davis or Bustamante. If Arnie had dropped out, I would have voted for McClintock ...McClintock? I didn't know you were that conservative. Tom still thinks he won't have to raise taxes.

[Fireblade]

Hell no. Anyone is better than him.

[kboy75]

Just curious -- for those of you who voted for Ah-nold or who plan to: why?


well, i definitely do not like the status quo. so for sure, i'd like davis out.

from that point it's a matter of best options. i'd rather not have bustamante cause i feel like that's davis part II.

i usually loyally vote democratic, but i want to give arnold a chance with his business savy and also have an outsider come in and change things up. things are busted up pretty good as it is. it makes me feel better that even though arnold is politically a republican, he is socially liberal. sort of like the reagan democrats (but reversed... kinda... anyhow). i don't care much for background or ethics. my bottom line is: can he fix the economy?

[kasia]

and you've concluded that ah-nold can fix the economy? or may be able to? on what basis have you drawn that conclusion? being able to handle one's personal finances is very different from being able to handle a state's finances.

and why is bustamante davis part II?

[kboy75]

and you've concluded that ah-nold can fix the economy? or may be able to? on what basis have you drawn that conclusion? being able to handle one's personal finances is very different from being able to handle a state's finances.

and why is bustamante davis part II?


i have not concluded, but i am willing to give him a chance. i do realize that arnold has no experience running the state, but then again, davis had lots of experience. also, look at jesse the body ventura.i have however concluded that davis cannot fix the economy which is why i voted him out.

if we were having a normal election, i dunno if i would vote similarly. this election involves a recall of davis, and choosing another option.

bustamante make talk a different talk, but in reality he is from the same circles and my gut (and my reading) just tells me that he will be more of the same.

i don't care to get much more into it than this since i already sent my absentee ballot in. i just wanted to quickly answer achtung's question.

[kboy75]

btw, i voted for davis in the last election.

[kasia]

i just don't think "it can't get any worse" is the attitude to take. it can get worse. and we have no idea what arnold is going to do. it doesn't seem like he has much of an idea either, since he hasn't communicated anything to us.

as for bustamante, isn't he a lot more liberal than davis?

[kboy75]

i just don't think "it can't get any worse" is the attitude to take. it can get worse. and we have no idea what arnold is going to do. it doesn't seem like he has much of an idea either, since he hasn't communicated anything to us.

as for bustamante, isn't he a lot more liberal than davis?

well, i agree with you. i think it can indeed get worse. just that i think it can get worse with davis, and with davis part II (sorry but that's what i call him). bustamante is more socially liberal than davis, but arnold is liberal enough on the issues i care about. i'm more focused on the economy, and bustamante's plans do not satisfy me, and i could not feel good about voting for him.

arnold is no dummy. i think that is his pre-election strategy; not to be too specific so as to avoid confrontation with davis and friends. naturally, he doesn't know the inner workings of california government because he hasn't been there. peoplewould pick apart that he doesn't know certain terms and stuff like that and make him look bad. but i dunno, i have a feeling he will do a good job. he is obviously very good at analyzing what is wrong with california. so he knows the issues well. as to specifics, he has been very limited in that regard, yes. but that is where you kind of take a chance. and though he has no politcal experience, he did marry into a political family, so he is no stranger to that world.

kasia, it's obvious that you probably will not vote for arnold. maybe we shold agree to disagree.....? :D

[kasia]

kasia, it's obvious that you probably will not vote for arnold. maybe we shold agree to disagree.....? :D

i just think it's fun to talk about this - i'm not necessarily directing my comments at you. anyone can feel free to jump in. i'm not even really sure how much i could speak to this topic - because i really feel that arnold has offered us nothing. aside from the fact that, lately, in CA, they've been airing an awful lot of his movies.

well, i agree with you. i think it can indeed get worse. just that i think it can get worse with davis, and with davis part II (sorry but that's what i call him). bustamante is more socially liberal than davis, but arnold is liberal enough on the issues i care about. i'm more focused on the economy, and bustamante's plans do not satisfy me, and i could not feel good about voting for him.

first of all, i hate davis - just because of his policies on prison and parole issues. but i'm still reluctant to blame the downfall of the state economy solely on him. look at the rest of the country. look at what bush did. should we recall him as well?

even assuming that davis caused a great majority of the problem, wouldn't it be fair to say that he is then in the best position to know where the causes lie? arnold wouldn't know. if he takes over, he will go in having to guess what went wrong - which will only make us suffer some more.

arnold tries to come across as one who cares about the children - that's all i've gotten from him so far. but he also voted in favor of prop 187 - which negatively affected immigrant children. so does he care about kids or not? just white kids?

i don't know what bustamante's plans are either. i don't think anybody has said anything solid about future plans.

arnold is no dummy. i think that is his pre-election strategy; not to be too specific so as to avoid confrontation with davis and friends. naturally, he doesn't know the inner workings of california government because he hasn't been there. peoplewould pick apart that he doesn't know certain terms and stuff like that and make him look bad. but i dunno, i have a feeling he will do a good job. he is obviously very good at analyzing what is wrong with california. so he knows the issues well. as to specifics, he has been very limited in that regard, yes. but that is where you kind of take a chance. and though he has no politcal experience, he did marry into a political family, so he is no stranger to that world.

on the contrary, i think arnold avoided debate because he wouldn't know what to say. i don't agree that he is good at analyzing what is wrong with california. i've only heard 2 things from him: 1) that our government is highly influenced by special interest groups and 2) that indian casinos don't have to pay taxes. i don't see how that relates specifically to the way our government is now. those two problems have always existed. this is a recall election, so all arguments should be particular to what this governor has done wrong.

[kboy75]

on the contrary, i think arnold avoided debate because he wouldn't know what to say. i don't agree that he is good at analyzing what is wrong with california. i've only heard 2 things from him: 1) that our government is highly influenced by special interest groups and 2) that indian casinos don't have to pay taxes. i don't see how that relates specifically to the way our government is now. those two problems have always existed. this is a recall election, so all arguments should be particular to what this governor has done wrong.


well, i don't want to open up a can of worms, so i won't. there is plenty of info out there on the internet and through news organizations and what-not where you can find out what Davis has done wrong. i don't even hate the guy. i've just simply lost faith in his ablilities. (btw, if we could recall Bush i'd be all for it.)

i also do agree with you that arnold would not know what to say. i don't credit that to his stupidity though. if you've been a politician long enough then you can "know what to say" even when you don't have a real answer. I'm sure Davis doesn't know real answers often, but knows enough jargon to be passably knowledgable and even sound good at times. OMG, what about Bush? He often doesn't know what to say. he knows enough to be passable.

for me, i'd like to see a political outsider come in. it's been done in the past (reagan, ventura) why can't it be done again? i really doubt that arnold is going into this w/o a plan at all. i'm sure him and his future staff have something in the works. no, i do not have proof, but to not have anything on the drawing board and say, "i'll get to it when i get to it" would just not make sense.

his value of "fiscal discipline and responsibility" and the fact that he has been successful in life already simply gives me a gut feeling that he can be successful with this as well. it's not all about special interests and indian casinos. he wants to have a constitutional spending cap and and to attack operating deficits. will there be cuts, yes. on education? no. will he raise taxes? he says no, but we'll all have to see. but overall, i like his business-like approach.

[kboy75]

Buoyed by poll, Schwarzenegger details plan for first days in office
JIM WASSERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
©2003 Associated Press

URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/10/01/state1506EDT0077.DTL


(10-01) 12:59 PDT SACRAMENTO (AP) --

Buoyed by a new poll that has him leading all recall candidates less than a week before the election, Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped into the role of governor Wednesday with a speech outlining his agenda for the first 100 days in office.

"We are ready to take office," actor-turned-politician told a crowd of about 400 supporters. "We are ready to take action. We are ready to return California to the people."

Schwarzenegger repeated a number of pledges he has previously made during his campaign. On his first day in office, he said, he would repeal the tripling of the state car tax then move to have the state budget audited and call a special session of the Legislature to enact spending cuts.

He also intends to seek a percentage of Indian gaming revenue and renegotiate state employee union contracts. The new state budget signed by Gov. Gray Davis also calls for $1.1 billion in savings from renegotiated union contracts or layoffs.


(more here) (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/10/01/state1506EDT0077.DTL)

[ChinaLama]

just wanna find out for my personal enlightenment, why's mcclintock or whoever still running? i mean there are 2 republicans in a close race, 1 of whom seems to have no chance of winning. i was wondering, how come there doesn't seem to be any pressure for the #2 republican to dro out? is his campaign helping arnold in some way?

[kboy75]

just wanna find out for my personal enlightenment, why's mcclintock or whoever still running? i mean there are 2 republicans in a close race, 1 of whom seems to have no chance of winning. i was wondering, how come there doesn't seem to be any pressure for the #2 republican to dro out? is his campaign helping arnold in some way?


McClintock is still running. I don't know his reasons. There is pressure, but so far he is still in it. He's the more conservative GOP candidate.

Some right wing republicans would rather have McClintock win, or even have Davis STAY than have Arnold elected in.

But overall, IMO, McClintock's votes are taking away from Arnold's.

[kboy75]

I don't know HOW he will accomplish all this with a Democratic legislature, but anyhow, FYI...


Schwarzenegger's top 10
Arnold Schwarzenegger's 10-point plan for his first 100 days as governor:

-- Repeal the car registration tax increase

-- Freeze spending and launch audit of state budget

-- Call the Assembly into special session to make spending cuts to address current budget imbalance

-- Demand a share of Indian gaming revenue

-- Renegotiate state employee union contracts

-- Pass jobs package with workers' compensation reform

-- Submit a budget for 2004-2005 that closes deficit and restructures inherited debt

-- Streamline bureaucracy and send more money to the classroom

-- Repeal SB60, the law that gives driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants

-- Pass open government amendment and ban fund raising during the budget process


(more) (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/10/02/MN27298.DTL)

[kasia]

Schwarzenegger: 'I've Behaved Badly...'

By Marisa Lagos, Times Staff Writer

California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger responded today to allegations by six women that he groped them inappropriately over the last three decades by acknowledging that he had "behaved badly" in the past and saying he was "deeply sorry."

"And so what I want to say to you is that, yes, I have behaved badly sometimes," the actor said. "Yes, it is true, that I was on rowdy movie sets and I have done things that were not right which I thought then was playful, but now I recognize that I have offended people. And those people that I have offended, I want to say to them, 'I am deeply sorry about that and I apologize, because this is not what I tried to do.' "

Speaking at the kickoff of his "California Comeback Express Bus Tour" in San Diego, the gubernatorial candidate said if elected he would be a "champion for women," and that he hoped voters would "give me the chance to prove it."

During the short address, Schwarzenegger urged voters to turn away from what he called "trash politics," and at first said that "a lot of those, what you are seeing in the media are not true." But in the next breath, the actor acknowledged that he always says "where there's smoke there's fire" and proceeded with his apology.

After his comments, the candidate quickly turned back to campaign mode, telling a cheering crowd — including several extremely vocal female fans — that it was now time to "go from dirty politics and back to the future of California."

He renewed attacks on Gov. Gray Davis, telling supporters to "look at" what the Democrat has done.

"He has torn down the economy; our economy is spiraling downward. People are losing jobs.... Those are people that have not only lost their jobs, but they're seeing the American dream slipping away from them," he said.

The GOP candidate made the short speech in San Diego at the beginning of his four-day, statewide bus tour. The whirlwind campaigning event will end in Sacramento on Sunday, after visits to Orange County, the Central Valley and the Bay Area.

Only one day earlier, Schwarzenegger appeared in the capital to present his 10-step plan for his first 100 days in office -- a speech that built on the assumption that he would be in the state capital after Oct. 7.

Meanwhile, Davis — whose campaign had harsh words for the actor's presumptions — today had no campaign events scheduled and only one public appearance this morning at the Santa Monica Pier, where he was to sign legislation establishing an environmental education program for students.

The governor's effort to defeat the recall took a hit this week when the results of two polls, including one conducted by The Times, showed a majority of likely voters favoring a yes vote.

But Davis has continued to campaign heavily, on Wednesday appearing with retired Gen. Wesley Clark — one of 10 Democratic presidential hopefuls — to rally support from Democrats and independents.

This morning on NBC, the governor told "Weekend Today's" Campbell Brown that he remains upbeat about his chances of survival, and said he was confident that Californians do not want Schwarzenegger as their leader.

"A poll is a snapshot in time.… I think the fact that [Schwarzenegger] may well be the alternative to me will set in on people, and we'll see what the reaction to that will be," he said. "If you want to be governor of this state, you have an obligation to tell people where you want the state to go, not just in vague generalities, not just recycling lines from old movies, but give us details."

Davis also pointed a finger at President Bush's administration, and the "declining national economy," for the financial crisis in California.

"I have to make the case that we are still attached to the United States of America. And when the Bush policies throw 3.3 million people out of work, some of those were working in California. And when he runs up record deficits, that affects the California economy," he said.

The other top candidates — Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, Green Party candidate Peter Camejo and Republican Sen. Tom McClintock — were preparing for debate tonight in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger has said he will not attend.

Bustamante also planned a "meet and greet" at Compton Community College at noon and a tour of an arts facility in Los Angeles later in the day.

Times Staff Writer Daryl Strickland also contributed to this report.