Arnold
could terminate other candidates for governor
COMMENTARY
Author information
Its been weeks since Arnold Schwarzenegger announced
his candidacy for governor in the upcoming California
recall election. Some people still joke about the idea
of the terminator seriously being the next
governor of California. Other people point to a recent
Los Angeles Times poll that shows Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante
with a 13 percent lead. Still other people point to
the extremely long candidate list for the election.
While people in and out of California continue to express
doubt about Schwarzenegger and the recall election,
they are ignoring something important. Despite the jokes,
various polls, and the horde of contenders, Schwarzenegger
has a serious chance of winning the upcoming recall
election.
Most
people now consider Schwarzenegger to be a serious Republican
candidate, but still joke about the possibility of him
winning. While the doubters joke, they seem to have
forgotten the serious actions that Schwarzenegger recently
took. Along with filing the necessary paperwork, he
has recruited financial mogul Warren Buffet as a financial
adviser and fellow superstar, Rob Lowe, as a political
liaison for the Hollywood voters.
According
to a recent Associated Press story, Schwarzenegger has
a larger campaign fund than either Gov. Gray Davis or
Lt. Gov. Bustamante. Schwarzenegger has been vague on
certain issues, but the campaign Web sites for Lt. Gov.
Bustamante and candidate Arianna Huffington dont
specifically list their stances on these issues either.
While its true that the superstar has never held
public office, he has prepared himself to be a real
candidate at poll time.
Some
people are quick to point out election polls. A poll
done by the Los Angeles Times this weekend shows Bustamante
leading 35 to 22 percent over Schwarzenegger.
However,
there are other factors about that poll that should
be considered. The same poll shows 46 percent of likely
voters saying they may change their minds before the
election on October 7th. In addition, the poll was taken
after Lt. Gov. Bustamante won a California Congressional
delegation endorsement, and before Republican candidate
Bill Simon dropped out of the race this weekend. In
other words, Lt. Gov. Bustamante may be in the lead
now, but things could change.
Even
if the people know about Schwarzeneggers actions
and seriously understand the polls, some still point
out the long candidate list. Weeks ago, one popular
and hilarious news story talked about the large number
of Californians filing governor candidacy paperwork.
While over two hundred people initially filed candidacy
paperwork in the beginning, many names were dropped
because they turned their paperwork in late, their backgrounds
made them ineligible and other factors. As stated earlier,
high profile candidate Bill Simon voluntarily dropped
out of the race. While its true the candidate
list has over 100 names, it may not stay that way.
Admittedly,
the Schwarzenegger campaign has no guarantee of victory.
The recall election is still over a month away and California
Gov. Davis would still need to be recalled before anyone
could replace him. Along with that, Schwarzenegger has
to deal with doubters, discouraging poll figures and
over one hundred candidates who also want Gov. Davis
position. Despite those obstacles, Schwarzenegger has
taken serious political action, outdone the incumbents
on fund raising and may face less competition at election
time. He faces a tough challenge ahead, but he could
be back.
Eugene
Chu is a senior political science major from Arlington.
He can be reached at (e.t.chu@tcu.edu)
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