Schwarzenegger the ONLY candidate that didn't need a script

By Mary Mostert

I know sometimes I sound like a broken record, but did anyone besides me notice Thursday night how totally and completely wrong the dominant media has been about Arnold Schwarzenegger needing, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, “carefully scripted appearances he can control”?

It seemed like it was everyone else on the panel that was quoting script — their particular political script and the ONLY candidate who DIDN’T need a script was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Independent candidate Ariana Huffington related everything to bashing George Bush. Democrat Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante basically defended the California Democrat who created the California Crisis. Green Party candidate Peter Camejo spouted Green Party jargon on questions that actually didn’t fit the question which didn’t answer any citizen question. Republican Sen. Tom McClintock came across as a calm, knowledgeable, conservative who probably would do his best to save California with standard Republican approaches. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the only one able to think fast, concentrated on answering citizen questions by talking to and with the voting audience and who displayed clear thinking and a keen wit.

The very first question from a citizen was: “What should California's top priority be right now?” The first sentences of answers to the questions were as follows:

Arnold Schwarzenegger: I think that our top priority right now should be turning the economy around. We have the worst economic atmosphere, worst business atmosphere in California.

Arianna Huffington: Actually, you know, I agree with one thing you said, that the worker's comp system is broken. But everything else you said is simply untrue.

Tom McClintock: Arianna, if I may, the statistics that we're seeing reported across California directly contradict what you have said. We've had a net loss of nearly a third of a million jobs in the last two-and-half years.

Peter Camejo: I think both Tom and Arnold are both factually wrong here. First of all, corporations are now being charged the lowest tax rates that they have been for decades and decades.

Cruz Bustamante: There are a couple things first. During the dot-com boom, we were doing about 7,100 new business startups in California. Today we're averaging 7,700 new business startups in California.

Who answered the citizen’s question? Schwarzeneggar.

The second citizen question was “How would you propose enhancing revenue and or what specific cuts would you make to spending in order to achieve a balanced budget?”

This time the first to respond was Senator McClintock:

Tom McClintock: — It's a great question, and I do have to correct Arnold. It's not called a three-strikes law.

Peter Camejo: Look, we pay ... the average person in California pays about 9.2 percent of their income in taxes. The wealthiest one percent pay 7.2.

Arianna Huffington: Well, the first thing I would do is close corporate tax loopholes because right now, just in terms of how they're assessing commercial properties, we are losing about $2 billion in revenues. And if we just change that, if we just assess commercial properties fairly, that would be $2 billion.

Cruz Bustamante: Well clearly we spent too much. We spent more as a government, we spent more than it was coming in.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Yeah, I don't understand all this ... so what you're saying all this ... The politicians make a mistake, they keep spending and spending and spending, then when they realize they made a mistake and spent money they don't even have, then they go out and go tax, tax, tax. That's the answer to the problem? What about finance spending…

Cruz Bustamante: (interrupting) Well, in fact, when I was speaker, we voted a middle-income tax cut.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: What you have to do is put a spending cap on it. You guys have an addiction problem. You should go to an addiction place because you cannot stop spending. What happens then is if you keep spending…

Cruz Bustamante: (interrupting) Well, that's what happens when you simplify things.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: What happens then is if you spend, spend, spend, then you have to tax, tax, tax, but all of a sudden you say, 'Where are the jobs?' Gone, gone, gone. That's the problem that we're facing here.

MODERATOR: (interrupting Schwarzenegger’s allotted time) All right, thank you. Hang on right here, what do you got, Arianna? Short?

Arianna Huffington: Arnold's analysis fits perfect the Bush administration in Washington. They keep spending, spending, and you have to...

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Arianna, you can campaign against Bush. Arianna, if you want to campaign against Bush, go to New Hampshire.

Arianna Huffington: No.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Go to New Hampshire. It's the perfect place for you. You're in the wrong state right now.

Arianna Huffington: No, you know, because otherwise, it's so hypocritical for you... Arnold Schwarzenegger: Or maybe a little bit more decaf.

This was followed by a round on California’s recently raised car tax, which ended in what the moderator viewed as a personal attack on Arnold Schwarzenegger by Arianna Huffington which went like this:

Arianna Huffington: Right, well there's a huge connection between our budgetary problems here and the decisions made in Washington. And we need somebody who's going to fight for properly funded mandates — whether it's on education or in health care

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Arianna, we're talking about the car tax right now and not about education.

Arianna Huffington: Let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish. You know, this is completely impolite and we know this is how you treat women and we know that, but not right now.

Moderator: On that point, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. Candidates please, let me take control of this for a moment. I'm going to decide it is my privilege as moderator that that was a direct and personal attack on Mr. Schwarzenegger, so would you respond?

Arnold Schwarzenegger: (to Huffington) I would like to say that I just realized that I have a perfect part for you in 'Terminator 4.' That's it.

While Schwarzenegger never actually got to finish his allotted time without interruption, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind at the end of the debate who the leader was and who is undoubtedly going to get the bulk of the youth vote. Whether that will put him over the top with a Republican rival remains to be seen. If the Republicans want to have a Republican Governor, McClintock needs to bow out. If Schwarzenegger quits, a whole lot of Californians would stay home and start packing to leave the state.

© Mary Mostert