His rude act doesn't play well [Schwarzenegger (no bias in this headline!)]

Press Enterprise ^ | 9-24 | Press Enterprise

[ambrose]

His rude act doesn't play well

11:44 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 24, 2003

By MICHELLE DeARMOND / The Press-Enterprise

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out swinging in his first -- and only -- debate of the recall campaign Wednesday, and some say he swung so hard he may have hurt himself.

Schwarzenegger erred in his approach by engaging in hostile exchanges with independent candidate Arianna Huffington and relying heavily on "preprogrammed sound bites" in the place of in-depth policy discussions, said Richard Pineda, assistant professor of communication studies at Cal State San Bernardino.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some serious thought to reconsider" his candidacy, Pineda said. "There's a real lack of civility."

Shaun Bowler, a UC Riverside political science professor, said the actor stumbled in the beginning, talked in programmed one-liners and rudely talked over his opponents.

Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, Democrat Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo came across as thoughtful and calm in their remarks. Huffington took a play out of Gov. Davis' playbook, Bowler said.

"She was relentless in going after the most electable Republican," he said.

One of Schwarzenegger's campaign supporters in the Inland area defended the GOP front-runner after watching the debate at the Bossa Nova Grill in Riverside with about 30 other backers.

Schwarzenegger didn't come off looking like a polished debater and politician, like some of his opponents, because he's not, said Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert.

"I thought Arnold did well. I would love to say he hit the grand-slam home run, and I don't think he did, but I think he held his own," said Benoit, who organized a rally for Schwarzenegger in Riverside last week.

Jack Pitney, a Republican and government professor at Claremont McKenna College, said he thinks Schwarzenegger probably helped himself in the debate but certainly didn't come off as a "policy wonk," such as fellow Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks.

"The big question is whether Schwarzenegger's aggressiveness alienated voters or confirmed the image of strength," Pitney said. "I think he probably came out ahead because he showed he had a grasp of the issues and he didn't let the other candidates knock him off stride."

Schwarzenegger's decision to laugh at Huffington's attacks instead of being serious also may have hurt his standing with voters, Pineda said.

"Those are the kinds of things that are dangerous," he said. "It makes it look worse."

Elle Kurpiewski, a Rancho Mirage Democrat and recall opponent, said she didn't like Schwarzenegger's conduct in the debate.

"He was continually interrupting and I found him to be very rude, and he doesn't know his facts. That was pointed out by the other four quite frankly," she said.

"I thought that Cruz Bustamante and Peter Camejo were both the calmest, and I felt that along with Tom McClintock they were the most professional."

Reach Michelle DeArmond at (909) 368-9441 or mdearmond@pe.com

[ambrose]

ping

[MEG33]

Arianna hogged the debate and was obnoxious.

[agincourt1415]

Arianna Huffington - is just plain stupid.

[ambrose]

Doesn't matter what we think - what do the fence sitting voters thing?

Hillary was an obnoxious bitch ... but when Lazio hit back, the media never let up on Lazio for picking on the poor little woman.

[MEG33]

So true!

[goldstategop]

Anti-Arnold quotes from Democratic political science professors. Hey, no bias there.

[JimVT]

some say he swung so hard he may have hurt himself

Typical liberal spin.

She says "some say" in the lead sentence like there is a litany of protest and then she finds one negative comment and two lukewarm ones.

No bias here!

[Puppage]

God, how right you are. Is it me, or is it ALWAYS a democrat who interupts when others are speaking? It seems that's what they (especially Arianna) do best. On the flip side of that, I rarely see/hear a republican do that to the democrats. I guess the right is more considerate.

[sergeantdave]

Arnold pricked Arianna with a pin and her head collapsed. Michelle is busy at the pump trying to re-inflate Ariana's airhead.

[mewzilla]

The author of this drivel better hope that the people who read it didn't see the debate....

[Tamzee]

Another liberal hit-piece... we have GOT to take back more of the newsprint media.

[Montfort]

It is a shame that they can't just stop her from interrupting. Then Arnold could simply ignore her as the irrelevant speck she is.

Her only role now is to bait him.

[Saundra Duffy]

McClintock won the debate. www.helptom.com

[Snuffington]

"[Arianna] was relentless in going after the most electable Republican," he said.

Unfortunately, President Bush was not in the race, so it came across as rather odd.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

You a huge apology. You just insulted obnoxious bitches everywhere by comparing them to Hillary.

[scabbage]

Why Huffing-a-ton was even in this debate is beyond me. I would think her poll numbers are around Gary Colemans, but I`m guessing the "pink squad" or whatever those feminists are calling their liberal shill group nowdays, would have screamed bloody murder.

[veronica]

Arnold had to push back at the witch. I'm glad he did! :)

[Let's Roll]

"Some say"?? How do these people get their jobs?

I thought Arnold was great.

[veronica]

McClintock won the debate.

And Arnold will win the election.