Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/24/061024101650.f1jg0l86.html
He'll be back: 'Governator' Schwarzenegger poised for re-election
Oct 24 6:17 AM US/Eastern
Former action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger built a Hollywood career and a multi-million dollar fortune by playing one-dimensional, no-nonsense tough guys.
But the bodybuilder-turned-politician who famously once mocked opponents as "girlie-men" has forged ahead in California's election race by showing a softer side that has wooed voters -- and left Republicans scratching their heads.
Leading his Democratic challenger Phil Angelides by double-digit margins in opinion polls, only a major upset will prevent Schwarzenegger from being swept back into office on November 7.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for the Austrian-born star of the "Terminator" movies, who was voted into power after 2003's historic recall vote that ousted Democrat incumbent Gray Davis.
After a honeymoon period, Schwarzenegger's popularity went into freefall during 2005 as voters reacted angrily to his confrontational policies and a special election called to ram through several unpopular measures.
Yet fast-forward 12 months and Schwarzenegger is on the threshold of emulating another movie-star-turned-politician, Ronald Reagan, by serving two terms as California governor.
Riding high in the polls, Schwarzenegger's campaign was given a further boost when the influential Los Angeles Times declared its support for the 59-year-old politician.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a solid, pragmatic governor who has steered a moderate course for California," the Times said in an October 15 editorial. "He deserves a sequel."
Analysts attribute Schwarzenegger's reversal of fortune to his willingness to defy the Republican leadership on hot-button issues, which has won wide support amongst traditional Democratic voters.
In July he approved a 150-million-dollar loan for stem cell research and later ignored federal opposition by introducing legislation that will see California become the first state to set strict limits on greenhouse emissions.
Schwarzenegger's stance on issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control have also distanced him from the Republican rank-and-file, and left critics on the right wondering if he is little more than a closet Democrat.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a conservative -- period," conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh told millions of listeners in August.
David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said many conservatives were "increasingly dismayed" by the positions Schwarzenegger had taken. "I'd have a hard time voting for him," Keene said in a recent interview.
The question of whether Schwarzenegger has swung to the centre out of expediency or political conviction divides analysts.
Ed Costantini, a professor of politics at University of California, Davis and a noted expert in California elections, said there are three possible explanations behind Schwarzenegger's shift to the centre.
"One possibility is that he really is a liberal," Costantini said. "Another possibility is that it's a cynical campaign strategy and that as soon as he is re-elected, it's back to the confrontational attitudes of last year.
"The third possibility is that he has discovered that bi-partisan government is really the way he wants to govern, because he's found it satisfying and rewarding."
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California, meanwhile said she believed Schwarzenegger could wrong-foot experts yet again.
"There are Democrats who say he's going to swing back to the right after the election; there are conservatives who complain he's Republican in name only," Jeffe told AFP. "But I believe after the vote he's going to shift left."
Schwarzenegger's recent track record on liberal causes celebres indicate that the governor is naturally aligned with the Democrats, she said.
"Look at his social issue position," Jeffe said. "He is far more liberal than the Republican base, closer to the centre or even to the left. "And I think that basically that's where he'll be -- he has no reason not to be. He will have to work with a Democratic legislature and he wants a legacy. And he will not have to run for re-election because of term limits."
He'll be back: 'Governator' Schwarzenegger poised for re-election
Oct 24 6:17 AM US/Eastern
Former action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger built a Hollywood career and a multi-million dollar fortune by playing one-dimensional, no-nonsense tough guys.
But the bodybuilder-turned-politician who famously once mocked opponents as "girlie-men" has forged ahead in California's election race by showing a softer side that has wooed voters -- and left Republicans scratching their heads.
Leading his Democratic challenger Phil Angelides by double-digit margins in opinion polls, only a major upset will prevent Schwarzenegger from being swept back into office on November 7.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for the Austrian-born star of the "Terminator" movies, who was voted into power after 2003's historic recall vote that ousted Democrat incumbent Gray Davis.
After a honeymoon period, Schwarzenegger's popularity went into freefall during 2005 as voters reacted angrily to his confrontational policies and a special election called to ram through several unpopular measures.
Yet fast-forward 12 months and Schwarzenegger is on the threshold of emulating another movie-star-turned-politician, Ronald Reagan, by serving two terms as California governor.
Riding high in the polls, Schwarzenegger's campaign was given a further boost when the influential Los Angeles Times declared its support for the 59-year-old politician.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a solid, pragmatic governor who has steered a moderate course for California," the Times said in an October 15 editorial. "He deserves a sequel."
Analysts attribute Schwarzenegger's reversal of fortune to his willingness to defy the Republican leadership on hot-button issues, which has won wide support amongst traditional Democratic voters.
In July he approved a 150-million-dollar loan for stem cell research and later ignored federal opposition by introducing legislation that will see California become the first state to set strict limits on greenhouse emissions.
Schwarzenegger's stance on issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control have also distanced him from the Republican rank-and-file, and left critics on the right wondering if he is little more than a closet Democrat.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a conservative -- period," conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh told millions of listeners in August.
David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said many conservatives were "increasingly dismayed" by the positions Schwarzenegger had taken. "I'd have a hard time voting for him," Keene said in a recent interview.
The question of whether Schwarzenegger has swung to the centre out of expediency or political conviction divides analysts.
Ed Costantini, a professor of politics at University of California, Davis and a noted expert in California elections, said there are three possible explanations behind Schwarzenegger's shift to the centre.
"One possibility is that he really is a liberal," Costantini said. "Another possibility is that it's a cynical campaign strategy and that as soon as he is re-elected, it's back to the confrontational attitudes of last year.
"The third possibility is that he has discovered that bi-partisan government is really the way he wants to govern, because he's found it satisfying and rewarding."
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California, meanwhile said she believed Schwarzenegger could wrong-foot experts yet again.
"There are Democrats who say he's going to swing back to the right after the election; there are conservatives who complain he's Republican in name only," Jeffe told AFP. "But I believe after the vote he's going to shift left."
Schwarzenegger's recent track record on liberal causes celebres indicate that the governor is naturally aligned with the Democrats, she said.
"Look at his social issue position," Jeffe said. "He is far more liberal than the Republican base, closer to the centre or even to the left. "And I think that basically that's where he'll be -- he has no reason not to be. He will have to work with a Democratic legislature and he wants a legacy. And he will not have to run for re-election because of term limits."