Arnold’s Last Yodel
By TIMOTHY EGAN
NYT
SACRAMENTO, Ca. — He was never as empty-headed as his enemies imagined, nor the cartoon character he sometimes portrayed. A Reagan Republican who married into the royalty of America’s Democratic dynasty, Arnold Schwarzenegger had everything going for him – no ties to party leaders, interest groups or the past.
Now the swagger, the audacity, the blush of the new — it’s all gone for the Governator in Winter. He was grim-faced and hollow-eyed last week in his final state of the state speech, standing in front of the Bear Flag, a reminder of the days when giants ruled California, and further back, when even the Los Angeles basin had grizzly bears.
The governor had no choice but to talk like one of the “economic girly men” he used to deride. The new budget numbers, like the old ones, are catastrophic. Despite furlough Fridays and hocus-pocus spreadsheets, despite college tuition spikes and long lines at understaffed licensing bureaus, he still needs another $20 billion just to keep the ship of state from sinking.
Does his fall — down to 27 percent approval — signal the end of a certain kind of citizen politician? Or is it because modern California destroys anyone who dares try to govern it?
(More here.)
NYT
SACRAMENTO, Ca. — He was never as empty-headed as his enemies imagined, nor the cartoon character he sometimes portrayed. A Reagan Republican who married into the royalty of America’s Democratic dynasty, Arnold Schwarzenegger had everything going for him – no ties to party leaders, interest groups or the past.
Now the swagger, the audacity, the blush of the new — it’s all gone for the Governator in Winter. He was grim-faced and hollow-eyed last week in his final state of the state speech, standing in front of the Bear Flag, a reminder of the days when giants ruled California, and further back, when even the Los Angeles basin had grizzly bears.
The governor had no choice but to talk like one of the “economic girly men” he used to deride. The new budget numbers, like the old ones, are catastrophic. Despite furlough Fridays and hocus-pocus spreadsheets, despite college tuition spikes and long lines at understaffed licensing bureaus, he still needs another $20 billion just to keep the ship of state from sinking.
Does his fall — down to 27 percent approval — signal the end of a certain kind of citizen politician? Or is it because modern California destroys anyone who dares try to govern it?
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
California economics - coming to a country near you. In defense of Ah-nold, california would still be in this crisis if Gray Davis had remained governor. My brother lives in California where the unemployment is probably 20%. The Democrats have been in control of the legislature for decades. The middle-class are leaving california leaving the rich and the poor - and the poor will end up just working as servants to the rich. The problems of california are more than one governor - republican or democrat - can bear. The Democrats there have overpromised what they can actually deliver, much like our federal government. Yes, these problems will soon be across the country.
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