October 30, 2004

ARNIE POWER:

Candidates Use Their Muscle, Hone Messages in Final Days (Maura Reynolds and Peter Nicholas, October 30, 2004, LA Times)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger harnessed his star power to President Bush's reelection campaign Friday, telling a roaring crowd in this must-win battleground state, "I'm here to pump you up to reelect President George W. Bush."

In a lengthy introduction, the governor praised Bush for his strength and determination in fighting terrorism and helping the nation recover from the Sept. 11 attacks. He made no reference to the issues on which the two men differ, such as whether to ban gay marriage.

"If you flex your muscle on Nov. 2, I guarantee you that President George W. Bush will be back," Schwarzenegger said, echoing a trademark line from his "Terminator" films.

Bush, who is normally impatient at long introductions, appeared not at all to mind the praise.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 30, 2004 12:09 PM
Comments

Slayed me

Posted by: Eugene S. at October 30, 2004 12:30 PM

Laura Bush, standing behind Arnold, smiled throughout the introducton like she just unwrapped her favorite toy on Christmas morning.

Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at October 30, 2004 02:25 PM

I saw that too. The two of them looked like a couple of adorable kids. I don't think they've had many light happy moments in quite a long time. Thnak you Arnold for providing a bit of comic relief. We all needed that.

Posted by: erp at October 30, 2004 04:30 PM

Of course, I meant, thank you Arnold.

Posted by: erp at October 30, 2004 04:33 PM

Schwarzenegger's performance has made me question the wisdom of requiring the President to be born a citizen of the US. His story is the quintessential American success story, and resonates with everyone from the colonias of the Rio Grande to the fancy co-ops of Central Park West. His social libertarianism is where most Americans are. His dependence on self-help to move forward is in the deepest American tradition.

Posted by: Bart at October 30, 2004 05:51 PM

They filled the 18,000 seat hockey arena last night, and the place was rocking, Kerry was in town a week ago and the held it in a 1250 seat auditorium.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at October 30, 2004 08:04 PM
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