Arnold’s on the Jay Leno show right now, and he’s making a very good impression of himself. When he attacked Gray Davis, it got a huge audience response.
There’s a lot about Schwarzenegger that is simply unknown, and he is going to have to show that he can match his popularity with real policy. He’s got the right rhetoric, but it remains to be seen if he can match that rhetoric with the ability to lead California through a major fiscal crisis.
Of course, after battling aliens, Terminators, and Satan, Gray Davis should be easy work for Mr. Schwarzenegger.
If Arnold wasn’t on the ticket, Davis would have remained Governor. Period. I still doubt that California voters will be foolish enough to degrade the system of democratic elections or to launch a political novice into the jaws of a $38 billion beast and hope he’ll be able to guess his way out of it.
If Arnold hadn’t won, Riordan would have, and Davis would have lost anyway.
Do you really think Riordan would have been the spoiler in a partisan recall election? The people likely to vote for Davis’ removal are gonna be the same partisan degenerates who took Davis’ bait during the California primary and put up the unelectable right-wing Bill Simon instead of the electable moderate Riordan. Would Riordan, who was branded a left-winger and shown the door by Republicans only a year ago, suddenly be perceived as their friend today? Or would they be compelled to vote for filth like Simon and Issa (the “real conservatives”) after casting their ballot to remove Davis? Would you vote for Riordan if your options included right-wing loonies?
Arnold fights fantasy enemies. Davis won a real Bronze Star fighting real enemies.
"Do you really think Riordan would have been the spoiler in a partisan recall election?"
I think the voters would vote for whatever viable candidate that wasn’t Davis. Gray Davis has the worst poll numbers of any governor in history. The people of California have an intense dislike for him, and the only reason that he won reelection in 2002 was that Bill Simon was a horrendously lackluster candidate. Davis is blamed for the massive deficit, he is blamed for deliberately concealing the size of that deficit until after the election, and generally being an inept governor. The fact that he’s only the second governor in the state’s history to be recalled only shows how immensely unpopular he is.
A moderate Republican like Riordan and Schwarzenegger should easily blow Davis right out of the water. Republicans aren’t going to vote for Davis, and a lot of even the hardcore conservatives might vote for Schwarzenegger on fiscal grounds. Meanwhile, Arnold will easily grab a huge chunk of the moderate and an even bigger chunk of people who don’t traditionally vote. (See the Jesse Effect).
The California Republican party is stabbing themselves in the foot with this move. Instead of continuing to pound Davis for three years, they’re going to send one of their own in to get slaughtered by a difficult crisis. What California needs is a “nuts and bolts” policy wonk who is willing to get into the details, cut the fat, and make hard fiscal decisions, regardless of party orientation. A Viennese Weightlifter is not the solution to their problems.
I can’t wait until someone turns this way to easy recall process against the Republicans. Who has to pay for this all again? I forgot…
With Larry Flynt and Gary Coleman now in the race, followed by a likely flood of others, the California recall fiasco and Arnold-gate is being increasingly exposed to voters as the out-of-control circus many have predicted it would become. In the end, I believe that Davis will prevail in the end, and if it doesn’t look like he will, could resign and defer power to his Lieutenant Governor, thus nullifying the recall. Either way, the GOP gets a black eye.
On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that Schwarzie may be able to prevail given the undeserved credibility his candidacy is receiving. He would inherit the biggest budget crisis in California history and have to be the mean guy to enact slash-and-burn budget cutting that will be strongly resisted by the Democratic Legislature and extremely unpopular among California voters. In my opinion, the GOP is seriously misplaying this move, choosing to represent themselves as ruthless partisans willing to twist the state Constitution and use whatever other means at their disposal to seize control of government instead of using Davis’ low ratings as leverage to entice California voters to their vision in the next election cycle. I’ve never been one to try to talk a Republican out of falling face first on a sword if they’re determined to so, so you guys can go right on ahead with your recall self-sacrifice.