Thread: Schwarzenegger to keep his distance from Bush

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Schwarzenegger to keep his distance from Bush

October 19 2005 at 01:10AM

By Michael R Blood

Los Angeles - At the Republican National Convention last year, Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't say enough good things about President George Bush. But lately, it looks like he is trying to avoid him.

The US president will visit California this week for the second time since August, but he and the Republican governor are not expected to see each other - in public or private - for the second consecutive time.

A string of Schwarzenegger-supported reform initiatives will be decided in a California referendum on November 8. The governor has sought court independents and Democrats to support his proposals.


"Unless President Bush is coming to California to hand over a cheque from the federal government to help us with the financial challenges we face, the visit seems ill timed," said Karen Hanretty, a spokesperson for the state Republican Party.

Political scientist Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said Bush could turn off voters Schwarzenegger needs to supplement his Republican base. Polls have shown some of the referendum proposals lagging amid Schwarzenegger's declining popularity.

Bush is to attend a ceremony on Friday for an exhibit featuring a Boeing 707 that carried seven US presidents. He will also be present at a Republican National Committee fundraiser at a private home in Los Angeles on Thursday. Governor Schwarzenegger is skipping both events.

"We have a very busy campaign schedule," said Todd Harris, a Schwarzenegger spokesperson.

The governor is pushing ballot initiatives that would cap state spending, strip lawmakers of the power to draw political boundaries, lengthen the probationary period for teachers from two years to five and force public employee unions to seek written permission from members before using dues for political purposes.

Bush last made a swing through the state in August, when he stopped in Rancho Cucamonga and San Diego. Schwarzenegger was conspicuously absent.

It's no secret that California is not Bush country. The president lost the state to Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race and to Vice President Al Gore in 2000.

Recent polls also show Bush's job approval ratings, nationally, are at an all-time low, his image battered by the war in Iraq and the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, a grand jury is investigating whether a crime was committed when presidential adviser Karl Rove, fellow White House aide I Lewis "Scooter" Libby and possibly others in government leaked information blowing the cover of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson.

Schwarzenegger had nothing but praise for Bush at the 2004 Republican convention, when he called him "a leader who doesn't flinch, doesn't waver, does not back down". But no one would call them close - they disagree over abortion rights, illegal immigration and stem cell research, among other issues. - Sapa-AP

Sounds like Arnies back is getting better. Lets hope it can maintain the up right direction.