To expand on my earlier post, I do not suggest that we judge Schwarzenegger primarily by some stupid comment he made 28 years ago. The quotation does seem to be well sourced, though Arnold denies having said it.
But in the decades following 1975, he willingly lent some of his Hollywood glitz to two of the most genuinely ugly figures in Austrian politics, former President Kurt Waldheim and the far-right leader and Hitler admirer Jörg Haider. In recent years, he distanced himself from Haider. And, to his credit, in 2000, when there was an international outcry over the inclusion of the Haider-led Freedom Party in Austria's national coalition government, he also criticized the inclusion of Haider's party. But given his vaguely defined political positions, people have reason to worry that Arnold, despite his "moderate Republican" posture, may have quite an authoritarian streak.
And at least according to the polls, that may be an issue of immediate practical concern to Californians soon. The Field Poll, which I understand has the best track record on California elections, is also showing the recall leading by 57%-39%, with Schwarzenegger the leading replacement candidate with a 36%-26% lead over Bustamonte.
Since the recall election is the first of its kind in California, the polling organizations face more uncertainty than usual. Also, the short campaign season compared to the year-long marathon in a normal gubernatorial election could mean that voters' decisions are more in flux than they would normally be this close to the vote. We'll see after the votes are counted which polls did the best measurements.
3 comments:
Dear Bruce, Thank you for some balance. Well, on Schwarzenegger at least! I wonder to what extent his earlier views are reflective of his upbringing, especially given that his father was an ex-Nazi. (Did his father actually bring him up?) And I wonder how many Austrians, even today, secretly admire certain aspects of Hitler's career? David
Dear Bruce, When I received my vehicle registration renewal notice a few weeks ago, I knew Davis was finished. The fee for our Volvo has gone up nearly $300 since last year, and the car is a year older! Perhaps Davis believes he is living in California in the 1930s (or would like to be), but he should realize that vehicle ownership is a bit more widespread here these days. What an idiot! David
David, see two posts up for even more complications in the story.
And what do you mean "at least"? All my posts are "fair and balanced." :)
- Bruce
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