Posted on 10/25/2006 11:20:10 AM PDT by SmithL
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to end his speeches with a flourish from his Terminator days: "I'll be back!"
The way his re-election bid is going, he's probably right.
Beaten, bruised and adrift just a year ago, the former Hollywood action star has become the clear favorite against Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides on Nov. 7, having turned things around by moving to the political center, collaborating with Democrats in the Legislature and watching his mouth.
If Schwarzenegger can pull it off on Election Day, it will be "the most successful rehabilitation in recent California history," as political scientist Bruce Cain put it.
The Republican has rebounded by doing something altogether unusual in politics: apologizing for his mistakes, changing course and breaking with his own party.
"Conventional wisdom says you have to be consistent," said Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. "It's hard to say Arnold is consistent ... but it's worked for him."
Schwarzenegger's rebound has been aided by an employment boomlet and an economy that has pumped billions of dollars of unexpected cash into the treasury, allowing him to lavish money on education and other popular programs.
At the same time, the relatively unknown Angelides has yet to stir widespread excitement among Democrats. A brainy, Harvard-educated detail guy, the 53-year-old Angelides has been hard-pressed to compete with Schwarzenegger's Hollywood charisma.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Rehabilitation my but. As far as I'm concerned, two Democrats are running against each other and Ahnold's just better looking.
He tried to govern as a conservative, and got his hat handed to him
Arnold is a survivor.
Arnie was smacked in the face with the political realities of California Governorship. The fact that he has been able to rehab his political career is amazing. The papers and media had him dead and buried a year ago.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
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