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The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Voters were unwise to replace Davis with Schwarzenegger

I am shocked at the judgment of the voters of California. I cannot comprehend why a majority of voters cast their ballots for Arnold Schwarzenegger. How could anyone see the man as a serious politician? Personally, I cannot even see him as a serious actor.

My view is that while Gray Davis may have hidden information about the state’s deficit, he did not cause the deficit. The economy of the entire country hit a recession, and California was especially hard-hit because the tech sector is centered in the Silicon Valley. I thought he was the candidate with the most experience, experience that could have helped California for the next three years.

As many critics have said, this whole recall business has been a mess. At first, I wholeheartedly supported the recall. It seemed to me that Davis had been cutting school spending too much. Although the budget required cuts, I didn’t believe that they had to come from money that went to education. The recall appeared to be the perfect opportunity to replace Gray Davis with someone better. The only catch was the lack of stellar candidates to replace him.

With a pool of135 candidates, you might believe that California could select a great leader. Unfortunately, since only five candidates polled virtually 100 percent of the population, the other 130 did not have much of a chance to win, whether they would make great leaders or not. I would assert that some candidates did not have this leadership potential; the candidates included an ex-porn star and the publisher of Hustler magazine — who do not represent the best California has to offer. Is Arnold Schwarzenegger the answer? I don’t think so. As it is, Schwarzenegger will serve as governor of this great state until fall of 2006, when the next gubernatorial election rolls around.

My main consolation is that Schwarzenegger cannot follow the path of another actor-turned-politician, Ronald Reagan. After a career in film, with 53 movies and one made-for-TV movie, Ronald Reagan became California’s governor before taking the office of president. I wonder what Arnold’s political aspirations would be if he had been born in the United States instead of in Austria. Sorry, Arnold, no upcoming feature as "Presernator."

I decided that to be fair, I had to check up on Arnold’s political background. The truth was that I had made judgments about his ability to run the state based on his acting in moves like "Terminator." Thankfully, he has had some political experience outside of the film "Total Recall."

His political involvement includes time he spent on George Bush Sr.’s Presidential Council on Physical Fitness and Sports from 1990-1993, and time he spent on a similar council under California Gov Pete Wilson from 1991-1999. He established the National Inner-City Games Foundation, which works to involve city children in extracurricular activities. Arnold also helped to pass legislation pledging grants to California public middle schools for after-school programs.

Although I must condemn the opinion the popular vote expressed, I realize that there is always the potential for the state to change for the better. Davis is gone, he conceded; the recall is all over. I hope that Schwarzenegger can use his somewhat limited political experience to help this state move forward.

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