posted on February 22, 2004 11:18:45 AM
Schwarzenegger Argues for White House Run
WASHINGTON - Arnold Schwarzenegger , making his Sunday talk show debut as governor, said that he and other foreign-born citizens should be eligible to run for the White House and that President Bush can carry California in November if he does more to help the state.
The Austrian-born former bodybuilder, in the capital for his first meeting with fellow governors, said he has not thought about running for president in the future. The Constitution says only natural-born citizens of the United States are eligible for the country's highest office.
The Republican governor said anyone who has been a U.S. citizen for at least 20 years as he has should "absolutely" be able to seek the presidency. A constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would make that possible.
"There are so many people in this country that are now from overseas, that are immigrants, that are doing such a terrific job with their work, bringing businesses here, that there's no reason why not," said Schwarzenegger, who became a U.S. citizen in 1983.
"Look at the kind of contribution that people like Henry Kissinger have made, Madeleine Albright," he said, referring to two former secretaries of state who were born in Europe.
Schwarzenegger said on NBC's "Meet the Press' that he has been too busy with California's problems to contemplate a future run for the White House. "I have no idea, I haven't thought about that at all," he said.
Schwarzenegger reaffirmed his opposition to the gay marriages that are taking place in San Francisco. He said Mayor Gavin Newsom's refusal to obey the state's law against same-sex marriages could set a bad precedent.
On Friday, the governor said he had directed California's attorney general to take action to stop the marriages.
"In San Francisco it is license for marriage of same sex. Maybe the next thing is another city that hands out licenses for assault weapons and someone else hands out licenses for selling drugs, I mean you can't do that," Schwarzenegger said on NBC.
"We have to stay within the law. There's a state law that says specific things, and if you want to challenge those laws then you can go to the court," he said.
Schwarzenegger, who was sworn in Nov. 17 after winning a special election to replace recalled Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, is making his first visit to Washington since taking office.
He is attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. State leaders were to meet with Bush at the White House on Monday.
Schwarzenegger campaigned during last year's recall election on a pledge to be "the Collectinator" and get more money for California from the federal government. Bush's budget, however, did little to help the state.
Schwarzenegger said he did not feel let down by the president and said Bush can win California in November if he does more to help the state financially. Bush lost California by 1.3 million votes to Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
"I think it is totally directly related to how much he will do for our state, there's no two ways about it," Schwarzenegger said. "Because Californian people are like a mirror, you know that what you do for them they will do back for you," Schwarzenegger said.
"If the federal government does great things for California this year I think there's no two ways about it, that President Bush can have California, he can be elected, I'm absolutely convinced of that."
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on February 22, 2004 11:29:59 AM
On the the Constitution says only natural-born citizens of the United States are eligible I agree it should stay as it has always been. But from what Arnold said he's not thinking about that right now anyway.
I agree with him about breaking the laws [gay marriage licenses].
But on Bush having more influence in CA if he'd help CA out....now that made me laugh. CA wouldn't vote for Bush even if he arranged to have all their debt paid off.
posted on February 22, 2004 12:19:22 PM
"But on Bush having more influence in CA if he'd help CA out....now that made me laugh. CA wouldn't vote for Bush even if he arranged to have all their debt paid off."
Hey, Linda, huzzah! That one made me laugh out loud too! God Bless California, hahaha!
But maybe now you can appreciate why dinking with the Constitution is such an important thing not to do, since Arnie is so clearly being primed to take the reins in 2008.
Thinking back now to another Austrian who took over the government of a country in which he was not born...
posted on February 22, 2004 12:34:54 PM
Alright--what has Schwarzenegger done that you compare him with Hitler? Come on--something really comparable? OK--remotely comparable?
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on February 22, 2004 12:45:08 PM
He's in bed with the Bushes. That's more than enough for me. "New World Order" and all that rot Poppy used to spout before they toned it down to the seemingly inoffensive "spreading democracy thoughout the world" stance Junior & Co. are peddling.
You can think it fantastic or paranoid or just more of that 'crazy' plsmith's blather, but the Administration itself has come out with its plans to dominate the world; I don't know how that sounds to you but to me it sounds frightening and, yes, reminiscent of another time.
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Arnold is a compulsive womanizer, Helen. (I assume you know that and are just having a good time leading me around by the nose today.)
And before the rest of ya pile on demanding 'proof', all I'm going to say is that I have relatives in the film industry (and they're not the doormen) and what I know about Arnold did not come from the National Enquirer.
Whereto next, Helen? This is kinda fun...
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posted on February 22, 2004 02:46:35 PM
ahhhhh but.....things they are a lookin' better in ol' California. Arnold is IN....Davis is OUT!!! California voters are finally starting to see what the problem has been.
Now if Arnold is successful about turning around the mess Davis and the democratic legislators made.....he'll be re-elected and maybe some of the rest of the dems that voted for all that spending will be voted OUT too. We can only hope.
posted on February 22, 2004 04:08:22 PM
Linda, dear, ding-dong Linda, perhaps (actually, obviously) you are unaware that much of what Arnold has done since he took office three months ago is follow along with programs that were already set in place by Gray Davis.
Go read up on:
a) what he promised to do while campaigning
b) what he's actually done
c) how many of Davis' programs he's embraced because they were/are sound fiscal policies
posted on February 22, 2004 05:03:04 PM
Hit the pages of the San Jose Mercury News and according to them.....
Using what he calls a focused ``third eye΄΄ that helped him become a bodybuilding legend and silver-screen superstar, Schwarzenegger wiped out the unpopular car-tax hike, cut a budget deal with Democrats and pressured legislators to rescind a controversial law giving illegal immigrants the right to apply for state driver΄s licenses.
[i]Through it all, he has proved to be disarmingly charming -- even to his political opponents.
Democrats who were rarely -- if ever -- invited down to the governor's office when Gray Davis led the state now stop by for regular chats with Schwarzenegger's staff[/i].
Sour Davis aides skulking the hallways have been supplanted by self-assured members of the new administration. And the image-conscious governor seems to pop up at every possible occasion -- from the new Democratic speaker's swearing-in ceremony to Simon's, the dark capital watering hole favored by lobbyists and lawmakers.
One key to the governor's early successes has been his focus on personal relationships. As soon as he took office, he invited small groups of lawmakers down to his office to hear their concerns. He has made time to take moderate Democrats to dinner, meet with the state Senate leader in the Democrat's office instead of his own, and sit down with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are trying to break political gridlock in the Capitol.
Re-elect President Bush!!
posted on February 22, 2004 05:28:56 PM I love it when you play along, Linda! What a sport you are!
The following is from an Associated Press report published yesterday:
During his campaign, Schwarzenegger said he would roll back the car tax and repeal the law allowing undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses. He said he would renegotiate state union contracts and tribal gambling agreements to benefit the state. He promised to pass a jobs package with "real workers' compensation reform."
He said he would freeze spending, perform an audit, streamline the bureaucracy and pass campaign finance reform. [I'll soon be adding more about the fundraising Arnold has been doing lately while NOT doing his job as Governor. ]
He pledged to cut spending and to propose a budget that closed the existing $14 billion deficit.
So far, however, a close review shows only some of those promises have been fulfilled.
Mark Petracca, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine, noted that most voters probably did not take Schwarzenegger at face value when he promised everything he did during the campaign.
"Its unreasonable to expect anyone could have come in and solved the state's budget problems very quickly," he said.
At the same time, Petracca argues, Schwarzenegger was sufficiently vague during the campaign about how he would achieve his goals that it left him a lot of room today. "This is a guy who made few campaign promises, but on the few things he promised to do most remain undone."
While Schwarzenegger has done some things to fix the budget, he's mostly relying on Proposition 57 to solve the crisis, Petracca said.
"That's hardly the kind of radical thinking that he promised the voters he would bring to Sacramento," Petracca said. "You look at his budget proposal for next year and there's not much that is different from what had been proposed last year by former Gov. Davis."
Bold text underwritten by the Were Colin and Linda Separated at Birth Foundation
posted on February 22, 2004 05:31:21 PM
then I hit was used to be the LA Times and they had this to say:
Arnold's first 100 days win praise 4 goals complete, others under way
By Harrison Sheppard
Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO -- Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger marks 100 days in office on Tuesday, with pundits and politicians praising him for changing Sacramento's political culture while conceding he has a lot of work left to achieve his policy goals.
Schwarzenegger took office Nov. 17, after the shortest transition time for any modern elected governor -- about six weeks -- promising "action, action, action" to end the state's fiscal crisis.
Of the 10 items Schwarzenegger promised to achieve in a speech made a week before he won the election, he has completed only four: repealing the tripling of the car tax; repealing the law giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants; freezing spending while launching an audit of the state budget; and submitting a 2004-05 budget that closes the deficit and restructures inherited debt.
But he hasn't failed at or completely abandoned any of the other tasks either -- most of them are under way, in the hands of lawmakers or heading to the ballot.
"He hasn't worked miracles, but he's been more effective than a lot of people thought he might be," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College.
"A lot of people wondered whether he would really take the governorship seriously and he certainly has. [/i]He's proving quite effective as a political leader[/i]."
Schwarzenegger supporters praise his efforts to work closely with Democratic legislators -- even when they fought him -- and for achieving as much as he has, given that he is a novice politician running the country's most populous state.
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Re-elect President Bush!!
posted on February 22, 2004 05:35:38 PMAlright--what has Schwarzenegger done that you compare him with Hitler? Come on--something really comparable? OK--remotely comparable?
He's in bed with the Bushes. That's more than enough for me
In other words, the man has done nothing to cause the comparison. I am not a big fan of Bush, as everyone here knows. I make no bones about the fact I think he is a congenital idiot--and that I detest his policies. He's heavy-handed, short-sighted, and thick as a plank, but he is not even remotely like Hitler. Neither is Schwarzenegger (who lacks the deficits I listed for Bush). Hyperbole such as this is ridiculous.
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on February 22, 2004 05:36:43 PM
The two articles I copied were from today's [2-22] papers.
Looks to me like he's off to a great BEGINNING....it has, after all, been not quite 100 days. With the way he's going....he'll have them voting Boxer out of office.
No one ever said he was a 'miracle worker'. Matter of fact, I said IF in my first post. I wouldn't expect those who originally opposed him to think he's done anything right....but it looks like others think he's making progress.
posted on February 22, 2004 07:22:29 PM"If the federal government does great things for California this year I think there's no two ways about it, that President Bush can have California, he can be elected, I'm absolutely convinced of that."
The above statement from a Republican ?? Has the Repubs under Arnie rejected the federalism arguments and positions ??
posted on February 22, 2004 07:24:00 PM
:: Of the 10 items Schwarzenegger promised to achieve in a speech made a week before he won the election, he has completed only four: repealing the tripling of the car tax; ::
Successfully canceling the addition of hundreds of millions of dollars yearly into thebudget - I guess we didn't really need the money.
::and submitting a 2004-05 budget that closes the deficit and restructures inherited debt.::
And lives or dies on the passing of an unpopular bond issue.
He has not really done anything. I'm sorry polioce and fire departments are WOEFULLY understaffed and looking a further cuts the state is still in debt, employment levels suck, housing prices are still on the rise. I thrilled to deather that people now smile in the capitol buiding since they sure as hell are not doing it on the streets.
Do something real and I'll start giving you credit but so far all I have seen is pandering (repeal of the car tax) and begging (how many millions are we going to spend on ads for the bond issue). Oh, BTW - could someone please explain how he remains unbeholden to corporations and outside interests when his latest funds raiser is being held in New York?
BTW - one of those real things would be say....doing the proposed trade off with the indian casinos of imposing taxes while also newly enabling craps tables. (BTW - I have no problems with the tribes and feel that they have done much to lend support when the state has abandoned - like paying for the rebuild of a local firehouse that was lost in the wildfires - but we need a little more help these days and I don't see it as creating a hardship - especially when you are giving them an additional cash stream in trade)
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
[ edited by Fenix03 on Feb 22, 2004 07:27 PM ]
