TheTerminatorhasadream—hewantstobethe"Governator1"ofCaliforniaandfollowinthefootstepsofanotherHollywoodherowhogaveupactingforagreaterstage—RonaldReagan.
ActionheroArnoldSchwarzeneggerunexpectedlythrewhimselfintotheraceforCaliforniagovernoronAugust6,2003inashow-stopping2announcementthatheraldedaspectacularcampaign.
Thesurprisedecisionbyoneofthescreen'sbiggeststarsfollowedweeksofspeculationaboutwhetherhewouldtrytoterminatethecareerofCaliforniagovernorGrayDavisinahistoricrecall3vote.TheAustrian-bornactor,56,whobecameaU.S.citizenin1983,hasbeentoyingforyearswiththeideaofflexinghismusclesattheballotboxinsteadoftheboxoffice.Butafterblowinghotandcoldforweeks,aideshadexpectedthestartobowtotheconcernsofhiswifeabouttheeffectontheirfourchildrenandstayoutoftheOctobergubernatorialrace.
Hemighthavespentyearsplayingafuturisticrobotinthe"Terminator"blockbusters,butSchwarzeneggerhasshownhimselftobepoliticallyastuteoffscreen,buildingastrongprofilewithintheRepublicanPartyandgarneringgrass-rootssupportthroughhisworkfortheSpecialOlympicsandothersportsprograms.In2000,heconsidered,butdecidedagainst,makingarunforCaliforniagovernor.Threeyearson,Schwarzeneggerhasmorenamerecognition,morepersonalwealth—30millionaloneforthelatest"Terminator"installment—andmorecharismathananyoftheothercandidates.
Thirtyyearsago,the6ft-2insbody-buildercametoAmericalookingforfameandfortuneinthemovies,hamperedbyanunpronounceablenameandathickaccent.Successwashardtocomebyinitiallyandhefocusedonbody-building,winningsevenMrOlympiatitlesandearninghimselfthenickname"theAustrianOak".Heeventuallygraduatedtothetitlerolein"ConantheBarbarian"in1982andlaterthe1984sci-fi4actionmove"TheTerminator"whichmadehimintoasuperstar.
Hismarriagetooneofthe(Democratic)Kennedyclan5—TVjournalistMariaShriver—lookedforawhileasifitmighthamperhispoliticalambitions.Shriverwasreportedtobeworriedabouttheeffectsofatime-consumingandhigh-profilepoliticalcampaign—letaloneapossiblewin—ontheirfouryoungchildren,butalsotoldSchwarzeneggershewouldsupporthimwhateverhisdecision."Yes,she'saDemocrat6,"saidSchwarzenegger"andthisisthefirsttimeshe'sgoingtovoteforaRepublican."
