A Terminator of Endearment

By the time Arnold Schwarzenegger had finished his paean to Republicanism and his glowing tribute to George Bush, two questions kept popping into my mind. One, is that rumor true that the Republicans are going to try and get the constitutional article of Presidential accession changed, to allow for foreign born candidates? And Two, How the hell did Maria Shriver, ever, ever sneak Arnie into the House of Kennedy?

In a wear your flag on your sleeve kind of stem-winder, Schwarzenegger recounted his conversion to Republicanism as a new immigrant to the land that as he reminded us, lives to be free. Recounting a televised debate from1968 that launched his political awakening, Arnie mentioned how the words of Hubert Humphrey sounded quite similar to those of the continent he had just left behind, a state interventionist socialist land, where individual freedom apparently was quashed. The cameras kindly chose not to focus in on Mr. Schwarzenegger’s better half that time. Wife Maria Shriver, a gal who grew up on that particular brand of Democratic pablum in her formative years, might have been a bit uncomfortable at the attack on the Holy Grail. Indeed, the speeches of Humphrey in 68 were the byproduct of the ages of John and Bobby Kennedy. Somewhere off in the distance, you could have sworn you heard Uncle Ted wondering aloud why he didn’t pay more attention to his nieces dating habits.

For Uncle Ted, the road to ruin came when Arnold listened to the alert sounded by Republicans in the late sixties, less taxes, more freedoms and a stronger military, a call espoused by the 1968 candidacy of Richard Nixon! For the first time in my memory, the name of Tricky Dick made it back into a Republican convention. Was it my imagination or did a sudden hush come over the crowd, as if to say hmm, did he really mention Nixon!

Now fortunately for Karl Rove and the rest of the Bush team, Arnie didn’t dwell on the Nixon era for a great length of time, but surely he is tempting the fates by bringing up the never far from the top scandals finalist. Then again, in a year which seems to be bringing back the entire Vietnam War as a litmus test for leadership, and with demonstrations outside reminiscent of the sixties, perhaps it’s not surprising to hear of Richard M. Nixon’s ghost floating over the Gardens.

Schwarzenegger made good use of his feature film credits, rattling off line after line from the Terminator, True Lies and other Arnie extravaganza’s. He attacked as “Girlie Men”, those who are pointing out some disturbing economic indicators, bringing much delight to the partisan crowd, wowed by a real life action figure. To be fair to the Terminator, he mostly made references to those epic cinema classics at his own expense, a half decent attempt to separate his two career paths, movies to politics.

For the most part, his speech performed the function it was designed to provide, that of a patriotic appeal from an immigrant to the newest Americans to put their lot in with the President. Considered a rising star in the Republican Party after his successful election as Governor of California, this was his first step on the national stage as a spokesman for Republican beliefs. To that end he filled his roll well, hitting the notes that Republicans believe about themselves. The placing of Schwarzenegger in the second night of the convention is seen to try and appeal to middle of the road Americans, those that may not have made their minds up yet and are looking for a reason to stay the course with the President. Despite his rabid endorsement of the Republican ethos, his administration in California isn’t quite as far right as many Republicans would believe. Perhaps the moderating influence of Maria Shriver and her Humphrehyite upbringing, has actually tempered the normal right wing bent of Republicanism.

While he beat the drum for all things great about Republicanism, he also remained on message with the theme of this convention: The war on terror and how the Republicans believe George Bush is the person best able to deal with the constant threats to the USA. He did his part, pumping up (pardon my one lame attempt at an Arnieisms) party line as to the success of the Presidents stewardship in the aftermath of 9-11.

It wasn’t quite as forceful as the McCain and Giuliani testimonies the night before, but it kept the continuity flowing in what seems to be the only issue the Republicans are willing to focus on. In the end his purpose was to praise the President and to get the audience chanting the always popular refrain of four more years!

More importantly the pacing of his speech and that of first lady Laura Bush, nicely fit into the one hour that the big four networks seem to have devoted to prime time coverage. The two speeches left precious little time for analysis, debate or rebuttal. Peter Jennings left only to say hello and good bye, thus becoming a highly paid Wal Mart greeter for the TV age, leaving the remaining 59 minutes to the Republican message. Like a true pro, Schwarzenegger delivered his lines with gusto and perfect pitch; he now sits back and awaits the reviews (Hello Maria!). Much like the subject of his adulation, who will soon do much the same come November.