Political muscle
You have to hand it to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - he has become a politician of real consequence and heft: humourous and forceful. This from him...
"I think the polls are looking very good for McCain. You know there is a 50% in the latest polls, 50-50, I mean that's in our own house. And then there are very good poll numbers coming out - I mean that's 100% of the vote, McCain - that's amongst Austrian-born body-builders! So there's all kinds of great action going on, so I feel very optimistic!"
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Even Arnie knows it's a lost cause!
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Just in case any American readers have never heard of Clive James's immortal
description of Arnie it is "a load of walnuts, stuffed into a condom".
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I can see Ahnuld, continues the Republican tradition of excellent grammar and syntax....
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Thank you. That's better. We should be able to get quite a bit of fun out of this one for the next couple of hours.
Anybody know what the proportion of Austrian-American body-builders of the eelctorate is?
Or is Arnie just an aberration?
(Had trouble spelling that. Must be the steroids or something.)
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Schwarzenegger does have a sense of humour, which proves that he's no ordinary Republican. By the way, his muscles aren't quite what they used to be, although I still would not arm-wrestle with him.
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I fully believe that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would be elected President if he were allowed to run.
I am sure most British people would dismiss him as a lightweight politician and thinker, yet he has proven to be a very adept politician as Govenor of California.
After a tough start, lots of fist-thumping rhetoric, he has managed to work with Democrats in the state legislature in California and still be a conservative Republican-no easy feat in California! He might not be a brilliant thinker-I once drove his golf cart in a charity tournament and managed to convince him that a grasshopper was a praying mantis and that they were in fact capable of delivering a nasty bite. But anyway, he is a very instinctive politician that manages to lead through consensus without appearing weak.
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Justin,
I may be wrong but after listening to you today on Radio 4 and reading your blog over the last few months my gut feeling is that you want Mccain to win. Isn't it bad form for the BBC to show a bias toward any political candidate or is it acceptable as the election is not being held in the UK?
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Let's hope Arnie never writes a book called "Dreams From My Father" -- we'd rather not know what Arnie's father's dreams were.
All that muscle talk, too -- what a philistine! Obama has more intellectual muscle than the whole Republican shower put together.
Bye bye Bush!
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Wake up!
On this, of all nights, the mods are on a go-slow again.
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Easily pleased, aren't you, Justin?
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Now Arnie IS the American dream, but McCain will not be back.
You think Arnie funny? How about this off a right wing blog? Not content with being painted a Marxist, Obama is now also Hitler (a neat trick if you can manage it)
"Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t the VW the people’s car during Hitler’s reign? No wonder so many libs love that car. "
Not only is that dumb in itself but also Porsche's have been the mainstay of capitalist WallStreet for 30 years !
You would laugh if middle america was not so bigoted and unknowlegable to make you cry.
Regards
Andy
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Justin. I'm sure you honestly feel this way about our Governator, but don't kid yourself this is anything other than personal attraction. He took over from an incompetent Gray Davis and has rarely stepped outside his Hollywood style. "Accomplished politician"? We are deeper in the hole than ever and he has managed to alienate almost everyone including the right wing. I don't know anyone Republican or Dem who has any respect for him. Remember the failed initiatives form a few years. Even he decried his own foolishness.
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What an austrian body-builder turned actor turned
politician has to say about the election does not
turn me on. He should have stuck to his weights.
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Well they've added the electoral college vote counter to the main page, its 0-0 naturally and that will probably be the only time tonight McCain is level pegging. :)
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You have to remember that Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver. Her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, was the sister of the former Democratic President John F Kennedy. Maria Shriver publicly endorsed the candidacy of Obama for the Democratic Presidential Nomination back in February 2008.
Who says Republicans and Democrats can`t get into bed with each other? My guess is Arnie is hedging his bets.
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Arnold has more muscles then....
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Arnold,ever the cut up.
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The governor has been spliffing again?
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Just saw Justin on the Ten O'clock news, the pollster with concerns about turnout was John Zogby! I mean why not just go direct to John McCain for an opinion?
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Oh great now Newsnight has Zogby on! If he leans anymore to the right he'll fall over!
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This wait is boring. anybody would think we wanted to vote.
But on 'muscle' and voting:
"The UK's Whipsnade Zoo solemnly informs the BBC that two American bison - named Barack and John - are involved in a tightly fought popularity contest, to be judged by staff. The winner receives a carrot."
Will McCain get a lemon?
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Haha, Justin, so you now are now trying to be funny! hahaha. Yes, I do like Arnie (I am an Obama supporter), I did like his speech last Friday (I think) at McC campaign.. with all the stuff about Obama needing exercise to bulk up his skinny arms and legs.
Let me explain. 50-50 means that his wife is non other than the niece of Ted Kennedy (which also obviously makes the niece of JKF) and is a staunch democrat. ie his the other half (therefore 50%, in his own house) is voting for Obama. hmm wait. His four children could be split along mon/dad line... Austrian body-builder which numbers maybe one (ie Arnie himself) is clearly voting for McC.
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2. endorfin:
Oh, well done. But mine was longer than yours.
(As Arnie said to the . . .yes, well, never mind . . .)
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#9 british-ish
On a previous thread, a US poster said that the BBC sells advertisements when non-UK people log on - clearly being a commercial company is more important to the Beeb than servicing domestic customers.
I don't mind the Beeb selling the ad space - I do object that they don't use the profits to hire enough moderators - or even have the sense to temporarily abandon pre-moderation at heavy demand times.
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tambourineman2 (#12), I'm an independent and I respect Schwarzenegger. If you don't know anyone (R or D) who does, you must not know many people.
I didn't vote for his special election propositions, however.
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Just been listening to Sarah Palin 2012 (I mean Tina C) on Radio 4 . . .
"K-A-K" (Kick-Ass Conservatism . . ."compassionate conservatism, you can call it self-love. . .")
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
come on , it's just a bit of fun. dont forget u guys voted for the present president twice, he is no body builder but he sure is comedic
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Well, I'm pretty happy with our Governator, not so happy with the reps and senators.
Anyhow, it's nice to see some humor. We could all use it.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Looks as though we're not going to be allowed to play with Arnie after all. Shame.
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#12
I'm not in agreement with you on this one. I work in local government here in California, so I get a slightly different view of our politicians. I didn't want or vote for Arnie the first time around, but he surprised me with the way he tried to work with both parties and compromise, which is an alien concept to the rest of our elected officials in Sacramento. He certainly made mistakes, but I think the financial trouble we're in right now has alot more to do with the larger economic issues in the country and with every special interest under the sun taking expensive propositions to the voters over the last few years than with any policy of Arnold's. In fact, I lay *quite* a bit of the blame on ballot box mandates.
And just for the record, I am a moderate Republican, though I could just as easily be a moderate Democrat. Mostly I'm just very moderate. And I respect Arnold.
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Well, he's doing better than most expected. He's playing the centrist which is always a good political move. People love him... and he married a Kennedy. Shrewd.
But every time he talks, I still hear him as Douglas Quaid...
"Damn you, Cohaagen! Give those people air!"
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