Originally posted by
[email protected] 12 2004, 05:14 AM
Why is this being discussed, it cannot happen, he was not born in the U$.
trash thread
You obviously didn't read the website. This could be a reality within 4-8 years. Like I said, you never know. No one ever thought this guy would be the governor of my state, yet so many people were dumb enough get him on the ballot and vote him into office. You'd be surprised to see how much support he has.
A Schwarzenegger presidency? Odds are long, not impossible
By Laura Kurtzman and Jim Puzzanghera
Mercury News
NEW YORK - The ebullient response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech at the Republican National Convention has renewed speculation that he could one day become president, despite the long odds of it actually happening.
The idea was first floated as a joke in the 1993 film ``Demolition Man,'' which posited that Schwarzenegger's popularity would lead to a constitutional amendment allowing immigrants to become president. Now it's seeming less and less far-fetched, say those who heard him give a speech Tuesday night that was both bemused and impassioned in its defense of Republican ideals.
Others point out that the very same conservative delegates who cheered ``Governor Arnold,'' as the New York Post called him, would be booing if he were a real candidate. But that did not stop many from hoping.
Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said his 36-year-old son, Chip, called after watching Schwarzenegger speak on television and said, ``Dad, I think you should change the Constitution so Arnold Schwarzenegger will be able to run for president and rule the world.''
Amendment studied
Lott said he plans to study the amendment, which has been proposed in two versions. One by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would allow someone who has been a citizen for 20 years to become president. Another, by Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., would require 35 years.
Some of Schwarzenegger's biggest supporters, such as former Gov. Pete Wilson, have been pouring cold water on the idea all week, saying a constitutional amendment could not pass in time to benefit the 57-year-old governor, who was born in Austria and became a U.S. citizen in 1983.
A survey by the National Journal of 44 Republican Party insiders found that almost two-thirds said they would not support amending the Constitution.
But at parties and on the convention floor, the idea has been batted about.
Wednesday, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said that after hearing Schwarzenegger speak, he was inclined to support a constitutional amendment. He said Schwarzenegger was among a field of potentially strong presidential candidates for 2008.
Everyone seemed taken by Schwarzenegger's personal tale, which gives the Republican Party a welcome new story line that embraces immigrants.
``It's a great story, a great success story,'' said Sandy Treadwell, chair of the New York Republican Party, who was born in London and came to this country as an infant. ``I think it would be a wonderful idea to change the Constitution.''
Lolita Jackson, an alternate delegate who is not only black and female but Republican in liberal New York City, said she could identify with Schwarzenegger because he is unique. Listening to him speak, she said, she thought of what a pity it was that he could not be president.
``I'd vote for him,'' she said. ``I absolutely would vote for him.''
Constitutional amendments can be passed quickly. The one that lowered the voting age to 18 passed in three months, sped up by the Vietnam War draft and the argument that anyone old enough to die in a war should be old enough to vote.
But Craig Crawford, a columnist for Congressional Quarterly, said an amendment could only succeed if it did not appear as though it were drawn up just to help Schwarzenegger.
``Schwarzenegger should have nothing to do with it,'' he said. ``If it became `The Schwarzenegger for President Amendment,' it would fail.''
Democratic cooperation
He said Democrats might be moved to cooperate, since they have their own foreign-born star in Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was born in Canada.
But Jack Pitney, a political-science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said that however popular Schwarzenegger may be, the fear of foreign infiltration will inevitably arise.
``Every time I try to sell people on this, for years, people have responded with the scenario that a foreign country might try to insert their agent.''
Still, he said, the issue could be a way to appeal to immigrant voters, whom both parties are eager to recruit. Democrats, the traditional champions of immigrants' rights, would have a natural incentive to support it, as would Republicans, who are trying to attract more immigrants.
Others point out that support for Schwarzenegger may not be as deep as it appeared Tuesday night, when the crowd went wild when he walked on stage and became delirious at the impish way he insulted the opposition as ``economic girly-men.''
Midway through Schwarzenegger's speech, Bob Kostelka, a state senator from Louisiana, leaped out of his seat and shouted, ``Terminate them Democrats!'' Later, he called the speech ``a stemwinder.''
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...004/9561236.htm (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/election2004/9561236.htm)
Also read...
http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/?0...on_onlineonly01 (http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/?040628on_onlineonly01)