Is Arnold's Teflon thick enough to take on Grey Davis?

[Chuckiechan]

Arnold has a past that includes womanizing, pot smoking, steroid use, and probably other stuff we don't know about. (Yet)

Our last actor, Ronald Reagan was basically a saint. Arnold in his earlier life was somewhat like Howard Stern ("Radio is going to reach a new low, and I wouldn't miss it for the world!")

This could be the dirtiest of the dirty campaigns. For those of you who don't live in California, this election could ultimately empower you to take control of your politicians! The battle is between the special interests and Arnold. The Republicans in California are too weak to have any special interests courting them, so he is up against the most corrupt vote machine since mayor Daley in Chicago!

[Theophylact]

Originally posted by Chuckiechan
Our last actor, Ronald Reagan was basically a saint.

Not quite, but at the time he ran, people didn't dish the dirt in quite the same way as they do now. He was, however, a divorced man, and that had been used against both Adlai Stevenson and Nelson Rockefeller, and probably contributed to their defeats (Rockefeller's in trying for the Republican Presidential nomination in '64; probably nobody could have beaten Eisenhower in '52 and '56).

[Front242]

If he doesn't win... He'll be back! (sorry, I couldn't resist)

[SPEEDO]

I don't think Davis is to well liked by people so I think Ahhhnold will croak him!

[CERuppel]

I think that the tactic Arnold will use (effectively) is "I'm just like you".

Sort of, I mean he is a multimillionaire, Mr Universe, movie star...

But aside from that he has had problems in his life. And he does come across as more of a "real" person than most polititions. Wish he was running in michigan.

[Theophylact]

And he does come across as more of a "real" person than most politicians

As a Method actor supposedly said, "Sincerity is the most important thing; once you can fake that, you've got it made."

[RayH]

He's using it as a stepping stone to senator. Actually, he may bring the state Republicans back to the center.

[daveleau]

Political pundit Katie Couric was very good to get the ball rolling when it comes to Arnold's dirt. She gave a 40 second run down of his past (just the negative stuff) in a question posed to a political analyst.

Honestly, do you think his former drug use is going to hurt his chances for being elected? There is a large movement in that state to legalize pot. They have pot bars in SF for "medical marijuana" (I use quotes not b/c I don't believe in the benefit of THC in medicine, but b/c of the lackadaisical way that Kalifornia doctors give the prescrips). I bet that factor alone would have him soaring in the polls. Reagan was a saint, but times have changed and Kalifornia doesn't look for perfect morals when it comes to electing people. I mean, they did elect Clinton twice in national elections and the 9th circuit is there. Arnold may be liberal enough to win despite his ties to the Republican party.

[omalleytrading]

I really doubt any of his past issues will hurt him. He's in the public eye already. If he had any major skeletons in his closet, someone would have dug it up by now (Smoking Gun, Access Hollywood, E!, etc.).

He's not a saint, but no one is. He's also not running for President. The scrutiny is less on a state level office. He'll be fine.

[daveleau]

Originally posted by Theophylact
As a Method actor supposedly said, "Sincerity is the most important thing; once you can fake that, you've got it made."

So are you saying that Arnold is a good actor? I love his films, but his acting isn't why I go to see them. I don't think he could method act his way out of a paper bag, so I think it is safe to say that WYSIWYG.