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Schwarzenegger Announces Calif.
Gov. Bid
By ERICA WERNER
(Direct
descendent of Karl Marx! - tha malcontent)
Associated Press Writer Aug 7,
12:21 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP)
� Arnold Schwarzenegger ended the suspense Wednesday and jumped into the race
for California governor, instantly becoming the best-known of the declared
candidates seeking to replace Democrat Gray Davis in a recall.
(ap) - First it's "Gray-out", and
now it's Ah-nuld in! The DemocRATS are not having a good couple of years,
are they! I know, I know, Ah-nuld is not "in" yet, but this is not good
news for the Left, and as per their standard of late, they will not open their
eyes to the political reality that has been facing them lately! Between
Kobe and Ah-nuld, Bush (43) is having a nice vacation from the "16 words" TRIPE
that the media was so incessantly focused on recently! Throw them a couple
of pieces of fresh meat, and they soon forget who they hate!... At least for the
time being. The DemocRATS will surely piss and moan their way back into a
headline or two before summer's end. Well, we are edging closer to a
prophetic moment in a "B" film where a reference was made to Ah-nuld becoming
President one day in the future thanks to an Amendment to the Constitution...
Erie, ain't it! - tha malcontent)
The surprise announcement by the "Terminator" actor, a moderate Republican,
capped a day of fast-paced developments in one of the most unpredictable
political races in recent history.
Earlier, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein had ruled out a run, labeling the
election "more and more like a carnival every day." And political commentator
Arianna Huffington declared she would run as an independent.
Schwarzenegger, 56, announced his decision during a taping of "The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno," calling it the toughest he's made since deciding to get a bikini
wax in 1978.
"The politicians are fiddling, fumbling and failing," he said. "The man that is
failing the people more than anyone is Gray Davis. He is failing them terribly,
and this is why he needs to be recalled and this is why I am going to run for
governor."
Schwarzenegger's advisers had said in recent days that he was leaning against
putting his name on the Oct. 7 election ballot because of opposition from his
wife, journalist Maria Shriver.
Schwarzenegger told Leno that he's not afraid of Davis allies attacking him as
"a womanizer" or "a terrible person." "I know that they're going to throw
everything at me," he said.
Davis' campaign committee responded by saying Schwarzenegger was merely the
latest in a long list of people who have declared their intent to run, noting
that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt is among them.
"The more candidates who join, the greater the likelihood that a small minority
of voters will be controlling California's future," read a statement from
Californians Against the Costly Recall, which was speaking for the governor.
The statement also reminded voters of the cost of a special recall election,
estimated by the secretary of state's office at $67 million - "money which would
be better spent on our schools and our children."
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, another moderate Republican, has said
he would enter the race if Schwarzenegger did not, and polls have shown Riordan
would be a stronger candidate than the actor. Riordan had been assembling a
campaign team on the assumption Schwarzenegger was out; his spokeswoman, Lisa
Wolf, said Wednesday that he had no immediate comment.
Schwarzenegger said he made the decision over the last few days and kept it a
secret from everyone - even his own advisers said they didn't expect it.
Speculation was so intense that his advisers had to twice squash media reports
that the actor was not running.
Even Schwarzenegger's appearance on "The Tonight Show" was tinged with suspense.
"Well, Jay, after thinking for a long time my decision is ... " he began to tell
Leno before the TV screen showed a "Please Stand By" sign. When the picture
finally returned, he said: "That's why I decided that way."
When the actor finally confirmed he was running, "The Tonight Show" audience in
Burbank erupted in whoops and cheers.
Feinstein's decision not to run gave a big boost to Davis, while frustrating
some Democrats who wanted her to run to ensure the governorship would remain in
the party's hands if Davis lost.
"After thinking a great deal about this recall, its implications for the future,
and its misguided nature, I have decided that I will not place my name on the
ballot," Feinstein said in a statement.
"I deeply believe the recall is a terrible mistake and will bring to the depth
and breadth of California instability and uncertainty, which will be detrimental
to our economic recovery and decision-making," she said.
The recall election is yet another setback for Davis, who has seen his
popularity plummet as the state grapples with a record $38 billion budget
deficit.
It also is the latest force to bedevil Californians, who in recent years have
endured an energy crisis, the collapse of the dot-com economy and a federally
mandated cutback in one of the state's main water supplies. Residents now face
the prospect of higher car taxes and college fees to close the state's budget
gap.
Davis is the first California governor to face a recall and would be only the
second governor nationwide to be removed from office if the effort succeeds.
Analysts from both parties believed the governor's chances for survival would
have dramatically diminished if Feinstein, who tops polls as California's most
popular politician, was on the ballot as an alternative.
Her decision came a day after a strong endorsement for Davis from the AFL-CIO.
Both developments were key victories for the governor, whose support from fellow
party members had appeared to be weakening.
"I'm very pleased with Sen. Feinstein's announcement," Davis told San Francisco
radio station KGO-AM.
"To the extent that Democrats get in the race, it makes it look like a normal
election, and legitimates what is really an effort by the right wing to steal
back an election they couldn't win last November," he said. "I think at the end
of the day people will realize that the party is better served rallying around
its sitting governor."
Some party members still thought otherwise.
"I want to back the strongest candidate and it's important that we coalesce
around one, and now I'm appealing to the leaders, the folks whose pay grade is
one or two notches up from mine, to figure out who our strongest candidate is
and lead us in coalescing behind that candidate," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif.,
who had supported a Feinstein candidacy.
One possibility was U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who had supported a Feinstein
candidacy and said she might run if Feinstein didn't.
"I have a feeling something will be decided tomorrow probably one way or the
other," said Sanchez's spokeswoman, Carrie Brooks.
Members of California's congressional delegation discussed the matter in a
conference call Wednesday, with the majority leaning toward finding a consensus
candidate, said a source familiar with the discussion who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Huffington, the ex-wife of former Republican Congressman Michael Huffington,
announced her candidacy at a news conference in Los Angeles.
"I'm not, to say the least, a conventional candidate. But these are not
conventional times," she said. "And if we keep electing the same kind of
politicians who got us into the same kind of mess funded by the same kind of
special interests, we'll never get out of this mess."
Michael Huffington also has taken out papers, but has not indicated whether he
will enter the race.
The ballot also is likely to include several conservative Republicans. U.S. Rep.
Darrell Issa, who funded the recall, is a declared candidate, and state Sen. Tom
McClintock filed papers Tuesday. Businessman Bill Simon, who lost to Davis in
November, also is expected to run.
Meanwhile, California's Supreme Court justices huddled behind closed doors for
hours Wednesday to decide whether to consider several challenges to the recall
election, including a petition to bar any replacement candidates from the
ballot.
The justices were expected to announce Thursday whether they would hear the
petitions, a spokeswoman said.
---
Associated Press Writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
� Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
(That depends on what the meaning of "may" is...
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