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Arnie muscles in for 2008
27/02/2007 13:54 - (SA)
Washington - Arnold Schwarzenegger's foreign birth might bar him from a 2008 White House run, but that won't stop him from muscling into a leading role in the race to choose America's next president.
The former Hollywood tough-guy, re-elected in a landslide as California's governor last year, was in Washington on Monday, rebuking squabbling Democrats and Republicans and touting his born-again brand of "post partisanship" politics.
Schwarzenegger watchers say the Austrian-born celebrity is angling for a role on the national stage and is in prime position to sway the battle for his Republican party's presidential nomination.
"For too long, this town has been about divide and conquer," Schwarzenegger told political insiders at the National Press Club on Monday.
"Find an issue that splits the country in half, then crack it just enough so you can come out ahead. 'I have 51%, you get 49%, I win, you lose,'" he said, lamenting rough and tumble campaign politics.
Moderate political centre
Riding a stunning comeback from looming political oblivion last year, Schwarzenegger candidly admits he committed huge political blunders in his moderate state by waging his own partisan war against Democrats in 2005.
Only after he flipped through a 180-degree reversal and distanced himself from hardcore Republican activists on issues like abortion, stem-cell research and global warming, did he reverse plunging poll numbers and stave off electoral disaster.
Now, Schwarzenegger sits in the moderate political centre, warning that Americans are sick of bitter political warfare between "extremist" members of congress produced by a gerrymandered political system.
"I believe the political way forward is this: Look to the future. Look to the centre, and look to the dreams of the people," he said, during an appearance coinciding with national governors' meetings in Washington.
Positioning for national stage
"He is certainly acting as though he wants to position himself on the national stage - he likes playing the game," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, professor of politics at the University of Southern California.
"He knows that he can become a major player in the Republican party campaign, he has already has had a few of the Republican party candidates come by and pay their respects."
The 59-year-old governor has appeared with key Republican hopefuls senator John McCain and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, telling the Politico.com website they are both "appealing" for Californians.
Once Republicans have chosen their nominee, the California governor could claim another key role: leveraging his celebrity and moderate political message on the national stage.
The US constitution prohibits the president from being foreign born. Still, Schwarzenegger's fame and his contacts book could help his party and its nominee in a 2008 election likely to cost up to $1bn in campaign funds.
- AFP
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