"It's so sad, I almost feel sorry for Arnold Schwarzenegger sometimes. That is, I might, if he didn't see nurses as the problem and corporate fund-raising as the solution.To top it all off, a Senate committee recommended removing Cindy Tuck as head of the state Air Resources Board, an agency that has led the nation in cutting air pollution and reducing automobile emissions.
But honestly, this must be the worst time of his life.
Remember when he was popular? Now I am not sure he could get elected head of the Screen Actor's Guild, let alone Governor again.
Take, oh, yesterday, for instance
His day began with the report that a museum devoted to him in Austria is closing due to financial problems. No one wanted to come see the old gym equipment he used to work out on?
I'm not surprised. But look at it from Arnold's point of view: would they close a home-town museum dedicated to Napoleon? Or Rchard Nixon? Or any of the strong-arm leaders that Schwarzenegger admires?
Then his day ends with getting booed by thousands of angry baseball fans in Orange County of all places, birthplace of Nixon and California conservatism.
Schwarzenegger wanted to spend a little time getting away from it all at the ballpark, eat a dog, sing Take Me Out, and host a $10,000 corporate fundraiser in a private box. Unfortunately for him, his troubles followed him there, as his staff had to stop him from throwing out the first pitch because hundreds of nurses and firefighters had descended on the game and were leading a protest in the stands. To top it all off, Schwarzenegger got to see an entirely new activism technique invented for him: the protest wave.
And he's still $30 million short of his fundraising goal for the special election.
Although Cindy Tuck had spent the last 20 years representing the oil and energy industries and had the support of every major polluter in the state, the Democrats held firm and refused to confirm her appointment.
Democratic Senators said Schwarzenegger broke tradition by appointing a lobbyist instead of someone with a science or regulatory background to head the board. Moreover, Schwarzenegger was warned in advance that appointing Tuck would create opposition.
