Hmm. Remind you of anyone else in the race?
Posted on 10/11/2003 11:14:52 AM PDT by buzzyboop
The man at the San Francisco news conference spoke with the deep voice, the thick Austrian accent, the bravado of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But it wasn't. It was comedian Dana Carvey.
It says a lot about the Terminator's bid for governor of the nation's most populated state that the appearance by a comic impersonator at a Schwarzenegger event was perfectly in keeping with the campaign's logic.
Not that everyone appreciated it. ``Is this a campaign or a circus?'' one British reporter shouted in annoyance.
The answer was yes it was a bit of both. But more than anything, it was successful.
In the 62 days between his coming out on ``The Tonight Show With Jay Leno'' and election day, Arnold Schwarzenegger confected a vision of hope as bright as a Hollywood movie and spun it directly to voters via Leno, Oprah Winfrey and Larry King.
He harnessed his massive celebrity to Californians' desire for change, and the result was a political tidal wave that swept a sitting governor out of office for only the second time in American history. His first run for elective office left the mainstream news media and many of the conventions of political campaigning in its wake.
``The mass wants to hear one thing and wants to see one thing: Do I trust this guy?'' Schwarzenegger told The Associated Press in an interview during the campaign. ``Everyone in Sacramento will have more details than I have, but I know exactly what needs to be done.''
Running to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, a colorless and highly unpopular policy wonk, Schwarzenegger campaigned on sunny but vague promises to turn California's economy around, bring back jobs and ``terminate'' business as usual in Sacramento.
At the same news conference interrupted by Carvey, Schwarzenegger denounced Davis for denouncing him for ducking serious questioning.
The fact is, Schwarzenegger participated in only one debate and limited himself mostly to brief interviews with political reporters and controlled encounters with friendly voters. He relied on help from famous friends like Leno and Winfrey to a degree that irked his opponents.
Most of all, the actor's own self-confidence and charisma carried him through. He'd spent his whole life selling one product himself and politics was no different, he said.
Not many other candidates, even celebrities or those who label themselves as outsiders, would be able to pull it off.
``He starts with one of the highest profiles on earth and the novelty of being who he is the Terminator, the big movie star and add that to a situation which is by itself theatrical,'' said Marty Kaplan, director of the University of Southern California's Norman Lear Center, which studies the intersection of entertainment and politics.
``It was made in heaven for someone like him.''
Still, it did not go smoothly from the start.
Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy Aug. 6 on ``The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.'' Sitting in the guest chair, he told America that running for governor was the toughest decision he'd made since getting a bikini wax in 1978.
Backstage, chief strategist George Gorton was holding a printed statement the statement he thought Schwarzenegger was following announcing that he was opting out of the race. Gorton, like all of Schwarzenegger's closest advisers, was stunned by the announcement.
His aides were caught flat-footed. They didn't have office space, letterhead or a cohesive strategy for the campaign's first days.
An exhausted Schwarzenegger got off to a weak start on several morning shows two days after announcing, giving vague answers to questions. He fumbled with a faulty earpiece during an interview with Matt Lauer, leaving the impression he was avoiding tough questions.
His campaign enlisted high-profile surrogates and advisers, but they caused more problems.
Former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson disclosed that Schwarzenegger had supported Proposition 187, the controversial 1994 measure that sought to deny services to illegal immigrants, while billionaire investor Warren Buffett criticized Proposition 13, California's sacrosanct 1978 initiative that cut and then limited property taxes.
Both men quickly disappeared from view.
In spite of the gaffes, the surprise announcement had the effect of a bombshell, and Schwarzenegger sucked up the spotlight from that moment forward.
He gave his first interview as a candidate to ``Access Hollywood'' and later shared a couch with his wife, Maria Shriver, on Winfrey's show. He went on Howard Stern, and as the other candidates met in Hollywood for one of several debates Schwarzenegger skipped, he was literally a block away, giving an interview to Larry King at CNN's studios.
``A lot of thought was given to the idea that we had the ability to expand upon the traditional outlets that tend to cover politics and take our message directly to a segment of the population that frankly isn't the 'Meet the Press' crowd,'' Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman Todd Harris told reporters the day after the election. ``Because of who our candidate was, we could take advantage of that.''
Schwarzenegger's opponents were left to look on as huge packs of reporters followed the actor everywhere he went. They protested in vain over the actor's refusal to debate more than once. And they paled beside him he was Technicolor, they were black and white.
Situations that would have rattled less-confident candidates, Schwarzenegger turned to his advantage. Egged by a protester in Long Beach, he laughed it off with a joke that was replayed for the next several days: ``This guy owes me bacon now.''
At the one debate he attended, Schwarzenegger sparred aggressively with independent candidate Arianna Huffington and limited himself mostly to generalities and one-liners, a performance his own advisers graded as mediocre.
But apparently, it was good enough. He shot up in the polls.
The last test came as Schwarzenegger was about to set out on a last campaign push in a chartered bus dubbed ``Running Man'' after one of his movies and splashed with a huge picture of his face. That morning, the Los Angeles Times published allegations he had groped women.
Schwarzenegger admitted he had ``behaved badly sometimes,'' but with Shriver a fixture at his side, he quickly recovered. Many supporters dismissed the allegations or chalked them up to his Hollywood background an explanation few other politicians could have carried off.
``He can grope me!'' one woman shouted at a campaign stop in Santa Clarita.
At a rally at the state Capitol on the last day of his bus tour, Schwarzenegger took the stage with Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider, whose song ``We're Not Gonna Take It'' was the campaign's anthem.
Dozens of protesters waved signs labeling him ``predator'' or ``the gropenator.'' But because special VIP wristbands were required to get near the stage, his critics were forced to the fringes and never got within camera range of Schwarzenegger.
The actor grabbed a guitar and faked playing along with Snider, and no one cared he was only pretending to strum.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Hmm. Remind you of anyone else in the race?
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You should follow the crap that coms out of Iraq. All the reports are Arabs or Arabists who can hardy give a fact with tacking on an opinion.
FMCDH
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