I’ll admit it: I’m an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan. I saw True Lies seven times in the theater — twice in a row on the sneak preview night. For years, as there were rumors he might eventually run for governor, I hoped he’d do it. When the recall qualified for the ballot, I hoped he’d run. And I was excited when he did.
If I were voting in the recall tomorrow, I probably would not be voting for Arnold.
Why not?
The allegations of his crude behavior toward women are part of it. Yes, the LA Times is biased in its reporting, and hasn’t reported on Gray Davis’s physical abuse of women, and the timing of their report is almost certainly political. And yes, perhaps that kind of behavior is routine in Hollywood, and therefore not unexpected. However, I think it reflect poorly on Arnold’s character. At least he’s apologized now, although it seems somewhat forced. (In any case, he’s handled the situation with more class than Clinton, who sent his supporters out to smear his accusers.)
But that’s been more of a last straw than the major reason why my enthusiasm for Arnold has faded. I know that he has to appeal to the middle-of-the-road voters, but he appears to have gone out of his way to offend conservatives.
For example, he decided not to support Prop. 54 (The Racial Privacy Initiative.) Fine — reasonable people can disagree on it. But did he have to refer to its supporters as “right-wing crazies?”
Basically, the only major conservative position Arnold has taken is that he is opposed to tax increases.
From what I’ve read, Tom McClintock has the character and positions on the issues that I would want in a governor. So, he would be my first choice.
However, I did say before that I would “probably” not vote for Arnold. Why the caveat?
Because I am pragmatic. McClintock would be better than Arnold, but Arnold is better than Davis or Bustamante. The latest polls show Arnold with a clear lead over Bustamante. If it was a narrow race between between Arnold and Bustamante, I would consider voting for Arnold.
But I wouldn’t be excited about doing so.
(Note: This entry was originally published on my now-defunct political blog, Attilathepundit.com.)