Hanging with Arnold 

Hanging with Arnold

God, I hope Schwarzenegger doesn't become governor; that name is just too hard to type.

It's depressing how predictable and predictably hypocritical all the reactions to the relevations of Arnold's pecadillos have been. People who wanted to lynch Clinton on alleged consensual behavior on less evidence flock to support Arnold. I don't get the sense that this flap will change the minds of any voters, it will just further polarize people. Those who wouldn't vote for Arnold anyway now say there is no way they would vote for him and question the parentage and sanity of anyone who will vote for him. Those who supported him are calling these stories "dirty tricks."

The most interesting, and cynical, reactions have come from Arnold's people. While admitting that at least some of the revelations are true (though they won't specify which), they say they are politically motivated. My reactions to that are "huh?" and "so what?" If they are true, what difference does it make if they are politically motivated? As for the timing, what can we do about that? It was a short race to begin with and Arnold shortened it even more by playing Hamlet for weeks, so the L.A. Times had no reason to start researching this article earlier than it did. Arnold could have avoided all of this by coming clean about this kind of behavior when the whispering started at the beginning of the campaign.

The truly most bizarre reaction came from one of Arnold's people when it was revealed that one of the women charging Arnold with this misconduct is a member of a union that has opposed Arnold's election. According to this advisor, this proves that the Democrats are behind the whole thing. Of course, acting on that kind of logic, Arnold is now free to grope half the women in the state. If they object, he can turn it around and say their charges are politically motivated.

The real loser in all this is Maria Shriver. She has lost all credibility as a Kennedy, as a Democrat, and whatever slim thread of dubious credibility she might have had as a "journalist."