Schwarzenegger works to bring both parties together
California governor wins plaudits
By Bill Schneider
CNN Political Unit
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Former California Gov. Gray Davis and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Monday.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- John Kerry may have swept the Democrats on Super Tuesday. But another politician swept both Democrats and Republicans on the same day: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
On the night Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, he asked, "Shall we rebuild our state together, or shall we fight amongst ourselves and create an even deeper division?"
Schwarzenegger appears to have succeeded in bridging those divisions.
His first major initiative was to restructure the state's debt. He put it this way on February 27: "We consolidate the debt and then we refinance it, and then we tear up the credit cards and throw it away, so that our politicians can never, ever do that again."
To do that, he needed voters to pass two propositions they were initially wary of, one calling for a balanced budget in the future and another bond measure.
"Everyone wrote us off," Schwarzenegger said at rally on Tuesday. "Everyone said this is not going to happen [and that] the Democrats and the Republicans will never work together."
But the Democrats made a calculation.
"Had he been able to portray the Democrats as a party that's preventing him from solving the problems of California, I think we could have painted ourselves into a very dangerous corner," said California Democratic consultant Darry Sragow.
So most Democrats decided to join forces with the governor.
"What you see is major Democratic elected officials in the state of California supporting this Republican governor," Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-California, declared at one recent rally.
Even the guy Schwarzenegger defeated joined forced with him.
"I think Arnold's off to a good start," former California Gov. Gray Davis said on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," appearing Monday with Schwarzenegger.
On Super Tuesday, California voters overwhelmingly approved the propositions. Republicans and Democrats voted yes. So did whites, African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and Jews.
Everybody -- but gay and lesbian voters.
Schwarzenegger seemed to know he had a problem there. So he moved to fix it by addressing an issue that has angered many gay men and lesbians -- President Bush's proposal to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
"I have no use for a constitutional amendment," he said Monday.
For once, Mr. Universe needed help.
"We have a massive weight that we must lift off our state," said Schwarzenegger. "Alone, I cannot lift it. But together we can."
And -- oof! -- they did it.
"You are the greatest power lifters in the world," he said.
Schwarzenegger didn't quite win everything this week though.
"I know you were a little disappointed that 'Terminator 3' didn't win any Oscars," Bush quipped Thursday. "But Arnold's had a pretty good year."
After all, he does win the political Play of the Week.
A politician who can pull Republicans and Democrats together like that could be a valuable national commodity.
Maybe he does have use for a constitutional amendment, after all --one that would allow someone born outside the United States to run for president.
