Give the California Media Cell Phones.... please

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

There are literally 100's of journalists, local, national, and international waiting at the Brentwood Polling center at this very moment waiting for Arnold to vote.

They are all disappointed that he hasn't shown up yet, but they are breathlessly awaiting his arrival.

Too bad no one called them to report that Arnold voted over 2 hours ago at his polling center in Pacific Pallisades.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Arnold Votes As Californians Weigh Recall
19 minutes ago


By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Many voters showed up early as polls opened Tuesday to make a decision unprecedented in California history: whether to recall the governor. As he voted, Arnold Schwarzenegger thanked a mob of reporters for "getting the issues out."



Although more than 2 million people had already voted by absentee ballot, officials were expecting lines to form throughout the state, especially because polling places were consolidated to accommodate the short time officials had to prepare for the vote.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley declined to estimate the turnout because this election has no precedent, but his office reported last week that a record number of voters for a gubernatorial race — 15,380,526 — were registered for Tuesday's vote.

Confronted by a ballot several pages long, voters were asked to choose the ending of a saga that has captivated the nation for months: whether Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites) becomes the country's second governor to be recalled, and if so, who among 135 candidates should replace him. Also on the ballot were two propositions.

Recent polls suggested that a majority of voters favored dumping the governor, and that Schwarzenegger was the leading replacement candidate.

At a polling place in Hollywood, people were waiting when the doors opened at 7 a.m., and they continued to stream in steadily during the first hours of voting. It was the heaviest early turnout Patti Negri said she had seen in 12 years as a polling supervisor.

"I've never been so busy, ever," she said. "We had to do a lot of paperwork but people seem excited and ready to vote,"

Turnout was increased when an adjacent polling place didn't open as planned and voters had to be diverted there, the first reported glitch of what was expected to be a frantically busy day. Still, the wait was only about 15 minutes.

As he has throughout the campaign, Schwarzenegger created a stir when he arrived with his wife, Maria Shriver, at a polling place at a Pacific Palisades mansion. Hundreds of people were at Schwarzenegger's polling place, but most of them were reporters and photographers.

"I want to thank you all for following the campaign and always showing great shots, good pictures and getting the issues out," Schwarzenegger told reporters. "I again appreciate all of you being a part of this."

Things began relatively quietly at the Thousand Oaks polling place of candidate Sen. Tom McClintock, where the doors opened under dark, misty skies with no one in line. But soon people began arriving in large numbers, some with children in strollers in tow.

McClintock, like Schwarzenegger a Republican, showed up to vote around 8:30 a.m., urging citizens to "simply vote your conscience. ... If everybody who believes I am the best qualified votes for me, we will have an upset tonight."

Davis and Schwarzenegger spent the campaign's final day on Monday crisscrossing the state for support. Schwarzenegger denied last-minute sexual misconduct allegations, and Davis pleaded for another chance from voters who elected him to a second term less than a year ago.

On CBS' "The Early Show" on Tuesday, both state party leaders sounded confident.

"The governor is going to be recalled and Arnold will win the second question and be elected governor," GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim said. "But, really, it's still in the hands of the people; it's up to them to get out and vote."

Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres said the predicted high turnout "could be the definite advantage for the governor. ... I think the lieutenant governor (Cruz Bustamante) is closing in on the second part of the ballot, so we may even have a double victory here."

The chaotic gubernatorial campaign began with a Republican-led effort and survived a handful of legal challenges. Along the way, the unpopular governor was blamed for myriad problems, including the state's economic downturn, and the former Mr. Universe grabbed much of the spotlight from a field of replacement candidates that included two experienced politicians — McClintock and Bustamante, the only prominent Democrat on the ballot — as well as a sumo wrestler and a stripper.



Schwarzenegger's poll numbers got a bounce after a lively Sept. 24 debate that brought together all the top candidates for the first and only time. Although the questions had been made available to the candidates before the forum, analysts said Schwarzenegger accomplished what he needed to by appearing confident and in command of issues.

With allegations dogging him that he had groped and sexually harassed as many as 16 women over the last three decades, Schwarzenegger on Monday marshaled the support of his mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and wife and surrounded himself with women-friendly messages.

Scores of female supporters stood behind him at events, holding signs proclaiming "Remarkable Women Join Arnold." As he took the stage at one event, the actor smiled broadly and said, "To all the incredible women, thank you."

Davis reached out to his core of labor support, marching in San Francisco with hundreds of firefighters, mostly clad in blue "No Recall" T-shirts. Many in the crowd were out-of-state residents attending a safety conference.

"If you give me the chance to finish my term, I will do it with all the passion, all the humanity I can muster because my goal is to make your life better," Davis told the crowd chanting "No recall! No recall!"

At a campaign appearance in East Los Angeles, Bustamante, who once led among replacement candidates in independent polls, said his internal polls showed him closing on Schwarzenegger. "Frankly, there's a lot of people who feel he's not fit to be the governor," Bustamante said.

Davis' popularity plunged following the downturn in the economy and the burst of the high-tech bubble in particular. Californians face an $8 billion state budget deficit, persistent unemployment and struggling schools.

In addition to the recall, two ballot measures also were being decided: Proposition 53 would steer 1 percent of the state annual budget to fix California's roads, bridges and sewage plants, and Proposition 54 would ban the state from using race, ethnicity or national origin to classify people in public education, contracting and employment.

[the exec]

Has there been a Fox News alert on this yet?

[strela]

There are literally 100's of journalists, local, national, and international waiting at the Brentwood Polling center at this very moment waiting for Arnold to vote.

Well for G*d's sake, DON'T TELL THEM! Maybe they'll stay there all day waiting. Think of it as an improvement to the signal-to-noise ratio in the media.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger (news) and his wife Maria Shriver leave the polling place after casting their ballots in the recall election, in Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades district, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003.

[mountaineer]

Nevertheless, an LA Times reporter will write that he assaulted a woman in the voting booth next to his.

[ampat]

Did you mean the exploding type of cell phone?

[Dan from Michigan]

Bwahahhahahahahaaha. Don't tell them. Keep em waiting. :D

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[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I am sorry, but this is just killing me. The reporters are still waiting for him in Brentwood.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is swarmed by the media after he voted in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003.

[onyx]

Ditto strela's erudite comment. FGS don't tell them! Obviously, they're democrats!

[Prof Engineer]

The reporters are still waiting for him in Brentwood.

Is he driving a white Bronco or something?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I am watching Good Day Live. They are still showing the reporters in Brentwood. They are standing their with their cameras and microphones persuing every car coming down the street.

How can there be so many reporters at the wrong place? I can't stop laughing. Not ONE newsroom has pulled off a reporter.

[onyx]

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!! Good one!

[onyx]

They're star struck and hopelessly stupid. Enjoy!

[strela]

Obviously, they're democrats!

I know I know ... direct every one of them to a round room and tell them to sit in the corner!

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Maybe they think that Arnold will be voting twice.

Maria is in a black sweater and sleak pink skirt looking fabulous.

[EllaMinnow]

How old is Maria? Do you know?

[BibChr]

Gee... she doesn't look furious, or faint!

Dan

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

She's like 47 or 48. She's had 4 kids, no plastic surgery and earns a living.