Schwarzenegger Flexes Star Power as Candidate
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Arnold Schwarzenegger brought his Hollywood star power to bear on Thursday as a newly declared candidate for California governor, casting himself as a populist politician out to clean up state government but offering few details of his platform.
Making his first public appearance since his surprise announcement on Wednesday that he would challenge Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election this fall, Schwarzenegger arrived at the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder’s Office to pick up official papers he needs to get his name on the ballot.
The “Terminator” star was greeted by a throng of reporters, photographers and TV crews as well as hundreds of cheering fans and supporters who swarmed the front of the office building as he arrived in a black sport utility vehicle.
Dressed in a dark blue blazer and tie, the actor waded through a gauntlet of well-wishers, shaking hands and signing autographs. When one woman asked what he would do as governor, he replied: “Clean house! Clean house!” pumping his fist.
Reemerging after obtaining his nominating papers, the Austrian-born former bodybuilder addressed the crowd, saying his biggest priorities would be to bolster California’s economy, improve education and reform “the whole system” of state government. He gave no specifics.
Asked about how he plans to tackle California’s crippling budget shortfall, the main problem for which Davis has been blamed, Schwarzenegger said, “We will have a plan very soon,” adding that a key to his budget policy would be to revitalize the state’s economy.
“We have to overhaul our economic engine in California, to bring back business in California, and to make sure everyone in California has a great job,” he said.
Addressing concerns that he lacks sufficient political experience to effectively govern, the actor insisted that his leadership skills far surpass those of Davis.
“In everything I ever did I showed great leadership,” he said. “There were times when people said it could never be done, that an Austrian farm boy could come over to America, get into the movie business and be successful. … They said, ‘We can’t pronounce your name, you cannot speak English well, and your body is overdeveloped,’ and you know what happened? I became the highest-paid entertainer in the world.”
If anything, Schwarzenegger has sought to turn his newcomer political status to his benefit, casting himself as an outsider with no ties to special interests and freed by personal wealth from the corrupting influences of money.
He also confronted his immigrant roots head-on, using his personal history as a metaphor for the American dream.
“I’m very passionate because I was received by California with open arms in 1968 when I came here as an immigrant, when I came here with no money, and Californians reached out and helped me to be where I am today,” he said. “And now it’s time to give something back to California.”
A Republican in-law to the nation’s most prominent Democratic families by virtue of his marriage to Maria Shriver, the niece of former President John F. Kennedy, Schwarzenegger is clearly seeking to appeal to voters of both parties.
Declaring his candidacy Wednesday on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” the actor said he was “running as a Californian.” Shriver did not accompany her husband to either his “Tonight Show” appearance or to the Registrar’s Office on Thursday.
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