Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to Address Republican National Convention

SPENCER MICHELS:

In personal appearances around the country, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California for nearly ten months, has clung to his Hollywood image as a man of action.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:

We are creating action in California. We want to make sure that it is again this powerful job-creating machine that it once was.

SPENCER MICHELS:

A promotional video for California tourism explodes with pizzazz and sells Arnold along with the state's scenic wonders.

The governor's use of his celebrity as a political tool is a phenomenon that the state's just-retired assembly speaker, Herb Wesson– a Democrat– appreciates.

HERB WESSON:

We've got an action hero who has saved the world more than anyone else, albeit on the silver screen.

I think that because he is who he is, he's got fans, individuals that want to get autographs, and what he's able to do with that is to travel not just throughout the state, but throughout the country and attract big crowds.

SPENCER MICHELS:

For those fans, Schwarzenegger's success story is familiar. The Austrian native got into weightlifting at age 15, moved to California, and, in 1977, came out with "Pumping Iron," the body-building film that made him a star.

He married TV journalist Maria Shriver, a John Kennedy niece. By then, his movie career was in high gear, earning him millions from films like "True Lies" and "The Terminator."

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGER (acting):

I am a machine.

SPENCER MICHELS:

Entering politics as a Republican, he decided last year when he was 56 to run for governor in the recall election of incumbent Democrat Gray Davis.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:

I'm going to run for governor of the state of California. (Cheers and applause)

SPENCER MICHELS:

In the campaign, he was plagued by his past: Charges that he had groped women, and a statement he had made admiring Hitler's rise "because he came from being a little man with almost no formal education up to power." He tried to clarify that later.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:

I always despised everything that Hitler stood for. I hated the regime.

SPENCER MICHELS:

He overcame both charges during a successful campaign that was highly organized, self-assured, and staged like a Hollywood premier.

It was a preview of how his governorship would be. Bonnie Reiss is one of his closest advisors and a friend for 25 years.

BONNIE REISS:

One of the things that makes Arnold so successful at everything he does is he draws upon the lessons of everything he has done in his life.

SPENCER MICHELS:

In his first few months, Schwarzenegger worked with the Democratic-controlled legislature to propose a $15 billion bond issue to defer the debt– which voters approved– and a new budget.

DAN WEINTRAUB:

The governor put out his proposed budget in January, which had very, very deep cuts in health and social services and a lot of other programs, but over the months, the Democrats sort of wore him down.

There were almost no cuts to health and welfare programs. He didn't really straighten out the state's budget problem the way he had pledged to do so.

SPENCER MICHELS:

For some legislators, like Democrat Jackie Speier, the budget wasn't really new.

JACKIE SPEIER:

The budget we put together was a Davis budget. It was a budget that we could like and that our children will hate.

It's a budget about putting off until manana all the problems we have. We have a $7 billion structural deficit in this state.

SPENCER MICHELS:

Conservative Republican Senator Tom McClintock, who ran against Schwarzenegger in the recall, says the budget is even worse than Davis.'

TOM McCLINTOCK:

We will actually have a larger operating general fund deficit this year than we ran last year.

SPENCER MICHELS:

Despite that serious criticism, most legislators give Schwarzenegger high marks.

SPOKESPERSON:

The governor gets an "a" for effort and an "incomplete" for performance. He has shown incredible enthusiasm for the job.

SPENCER MICHELS:

Recent polls show 65 percent of Californians think Schwarzenegger is doing a good job despite some well-publicized problems, like the hullabaloo over his comments calling legislators "girlie men" because they weren't approving his budget fast enough.

BONNIE REISS:

Arnold will always be Arnold, and he will be true to himself. So him being out there and having humor and making jokes like from "Saturday Night Live" is something that is just who he is.

HERB WESSON:

I am very critical of the governor doing that, and he knows that. He shouldn't do that.

SPENCER MICHELS:

The governor wasn't phased by the controversy. At a fundraiser for President Bush, Schwarzenegger repeated the phrase.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:

I've been organizing Austrian-born body builders for Bush/Cheney. (Laughter) I have even been organizing "girlie men" for bush/Cheney. ( Laughter )

SPENCER MICHELS:

This month, in a move that was interpreted as showing concern for the poor, Schwarzenegger settled a law suit against the state.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:

This is an agreement that's based on action, because, remember, I'm an action governor. ( Laughter and applause )

SPENCER MICHELS:

He agreed to funnel $1 billion directly to schools in poor neighborhoods, a plan the Davis administration had fought. Defining Schwarzenegger's political philosophy– he is not easily pigeon-holed– has become a game in Sacramento.

HERB WESSON:

My opinion would be that governor Schwarzenegger is the most moderate Republican in this building.

DAN WEINTRAUB:

He's really a very different kind of Republican than George Bush. While they share, you know, some things in common, particularly on fiscal issues and their opposition to higher taxes, Schwarzenegger has been much more moderate– even liberal– on the abortion issue, on the environment, on gay rights. He's much more of a sort of libertarian Republican.

SPENCER MICHELS:

Friends and critics alike agree that Schwarzenegger is relishing his new role and playing up his Hollywood past. He often jokes about his aspirations for even higher office.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:

I thank you very much for changing the Constitution of the United States of America, and I accept your nomination to run for president. This is the wrong speech!

SPENCER MICHELS:

Even though he may not be a traditional Republican, Schwarzenegger's humor, his star power and the appearance of success in California have made him a hot commodity in the Republican Party and at the GOP Convention.