Post by goldengoosenerus on Sept 17, 2016 6:57:45 GMT
Oddball Golden Goose Sneakers Moment No. 4,567 from the oddest election campaign ever: Movie muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger takes the stage as the crowd of rowdy Republicans bellows out the words to Twisted Sister's rock anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It." Suddenly, his mother-in-law, Eunice Shriver, 82, a demurely dressed Democrat with the unmistakable jawline of a Kennedy, emerges from the wings and plants a kiss on the candidate's cheek. As the crowd roars, a reporter asks Shriver what makes stumping for a Republican like Arnold so much fun. "Winning!" she says with a devilish gleam.
She got that right. On Oct. 7, California voters overwhelmingly backed a winner, booting drab incumbent governor Gray Davis out of office only 10 months into his second term. A month earlier Schwarzenegger, 56, an Austrian-born immigrant best known for biceps and a foreign accent, hadn't ruled over anything bigger than boffo box office. Yet in one of the most extraordinary transformations in recent political history, the former Mr. Universe electrified the electorate with a high-wattage campaign鈥攁nd weathered a firestorm of criticism after last-minute allegations by 16 women that Schwarzenegger had groped or sexually harassed them in the past three decades. "This is a revolt against the political system," says Tony Quinn, a nonpartisan political analyst based in Sacramento, who predicts the Schwarzenegger victory will have ramifications beyond the Golden State. "He is totally different from what we've had before. Every time Arnold talked about special interests and kicking butt, it resonated with voters鈥攁nd we're not just talking about California."
For the next few weeks, while election officials verify the vote, Schwarzenegger will prepare for the most demanding role of his life. Saddled with a more than $38 billion deficit, an ailing economy and a highly impatient electorate, California and its problems have befuddled far more experienced politicians. Schwarzenegger has 2陆 years to make sweeping changes, including a promised rollback of the recent tripling of automobile license fees. But voters didn't seem to be worried about the particulars. "This election is very much a part of a nationwide feeling of alienation and dissatisfaction with politicians," says University of Southern California law professor Elizabeth Garrett, an expert in the recall process. "I'm not sure what the voters are for, but I know what they're against: politicians who seem more responsive to special interests than to the popular will."
What's more, Governor Schwarzenegger promises a radical change in style from Davis, who admits to eating the same thing, a turkey sandwich, for lunch every day. Golden Goose Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, swept to victory in a heady mix of Hollywood glamor and Kennedy mystique. Just look at his acceptance speech-introduced by Jay Leno, delivered from a stage crowded with his Shriver inlaws and heavy with nods to his wife, Maria.
She got that right. On Oct. 7, California voters overwhelmingly backed a winner, booting drab incumbent governor Gray Davis out of office only 10 months into his second term. A month earlier Schwarzenegger, 56, an Austrian-born immigrant best known for biceps and a foreign accent, hadn't ruled over anything bigger than boffo box office. Yet in one of the most extraordinary transformations in recent political history, the former Mr. Universe electrified the electorate with a high-wattage campaign鈥攁nd weathered a firestorm of criticism after last-minute allegations by 16 women that Schwarzenegger had groped or sexually harassed them in the past three decades. "This is a revolt against the political system," says Tony Quinn, a nonpartisan political analyst based in Sacramento, who predicts the Schwarzenegger victory will have ramifications beyond the Golden State. "He is totally different from what we've had before. Every time Arnold talked about special interests and kicking butt, it resonated with voters鈥攁nd we're not just talking about California."
For the next few weeks, while election officials verify the vote, Schwarzenegger will prepare for the most demanding role of his life. Saddled with a more than $38 billion deficit, an ailing economy and a highly impatient electorate, California and its problems have befuddled far more experienced politicians. Schwarzenegger has 2陆 years to make sweeping changes, including a promised rollback of the recent tripling of automobile license fees. But voters didn't seem to be worried about the particulars. "This election is very much a part of a nationwide feeling of alienation and dissatisfaction with politicians," says University of Southern California law professor Elizabeth Garrett, an expert in the recall process. "I'm not sure what the voters are for, but I know what they're against: politicians who seem more responsive to special interests than to the popular will."
What's more, Governor Schwarzenegger promises a radical change in style from Davis, who admits to eating the same thing, a turkey sandwich, for lunch every day. Golden Goose Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, swept to victory in a heady mix of Hollywood glamor and Kennedy mystique. Just look at his acceptance speech-introduced by Jay Leno, delivered from a stage crowded with his Shriver inlaws and heavy with nods to his wife, Maria.