California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proving to be the bodybuilder of politicos — recasting himself (again) as a centrist and clearly on his way to an impressive victory at the polls, the Christian Science Monitor notes:
California’s action-hero-turned-governor appears poised to run America’s most-populous “blue” state for four more years.
The key reason: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has recast himself as a centrist.
He’s gone from “bickerer to bargainer,” says the Los Angeles Times, the state’s largest newspaper. This year he has joined Democratic lawmakers in supporting a wide range of issues, from lowering the cost of prescription drugs to increasing the minimum wage to curbing global warming.
“He worked well with the Democratic legislature, and they rewarded him with legislation that made him into a new person, a moderate,” says Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies.
The result: His approval ratings have risen some 19 percent in the past year, a rare spike in a short time, analysts say. Now nearly 7 in 10 of likely voters say Mr. Schwarzenegger will be re-elected, according to a Sept. 27 poll by the independent California Field Poll.
People outside of California often need to be briefed on why Schwarzenegger won: he won in a recall election conducted to replace Gray Davis, widely considered to be one of California’s worst governors. But if Ahnold had simply run in a regular Republican primary, his candidacy probably would have bombed. California GOPers felt he was too liberal and the epitome of a RINO. But in a recall free-for-all he could (and did) appeal to cross-over voters. MORE from the CSM:
Schwarzenegger now leads his Democratic opponent, state treasurer Phil Angelides, 50 percent to 33 percent among voters, according to a Los Angeles Times poll published Oct 1.
Two people who would be normally inclined to vote Democratic here in San Diego told me this week that they’re voting for Schwarzenegger because he seems to be on the right path — and because they know little about Angelides. He is to strong first impressions what tofu is to spicy food. AND:
“He has done an interesting back flip to get on board with so many Democratic issues that he has won over nonpartisans and Democrats alike,” says Mark DiCamillo, who directs the Field Poll.
Indeed: some independents this year talk about casting “protest votes” — straight party line votes against the GOP (which has largely ignored independent voters, just as the party elite seems to be ignoring traditional conservatives). They will have to literally hold their noses to vote for Angelides, who has proven to be an incredibly weak and bland candidate. Prediction: many will opt for Arnold. MORE:
[DiCamillo] notes that Schwarzenegger has gained some measure of support among Hispanics, who see him as a guy who reaches out to Democrats.
It’s a far cry from the days right after his election in 2003. Then, he sought to capitalize on his celebrity status. He became known for posing for “thumbs up” photo ops, insulting his opponents in the legislature with the term “girlie men,” and having a private smoking tent in the courtyard at the Capitol in Sacramento.
But it came to a crushing halt last November, when voters rejected four of the initiatives he backed, which would have made it easier to fire teachers and restrict campaign contributions from union dues. In that campaign, he angered powerful interest groups in the state, including teachers’ and nurses’ unions.
After that, Schwarzenegger — in moves that some attributed to the partial influence of his Kennedy-clan wife Maria Shriver — began to leap back to the center…not just inch back to it.
As a result: he’s now muscular in the polls. President George Bush talks about being a muscular type political leader.
But polls suggest Bush is talking mostly to his party’s base as he talks the talk — while Arnold talks to the center as he talks and walks the walk…
UPDATE: The LA Times (which has been highly critical of him) has now endorsed Schwarzenegger for re-election. Part of the editorial:
His priorities for the next term, Schwarzenegger says, include reforming the state’s dysfunctional prisons and another try at fixing California’s jury-rigged redistricting system. His previous attempts to address both problems failed miserably. Paradoxically, however, he may be in a better position to address these issues — and others, such as the state’s structural budget deficit — because he is a Republican. A little partisanship can be healthy in Sacramento, if it serves as a check on the excesses of the legislative or executive branch. And Schwarzenegger and the Democrats in the Legislature now better understand how they give each other political cover.
No such dynamic would exist if Schwarzenegger’s opponent, Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides, were elected. Some of his criticisms of the governor are valid; Angelides is correct to note that Schwarzenegger is too hazy about how he plans to close the state’s perpetual budget shortfall. To the extent that the challenger is more candid, however, his prescription of raising some personal income and corporate taxes is the wrong one.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.