CNN exit poll is predicting Gray Davis has been recalled, and Arnie will be the next Governor of California.
Governor Schwerzenegger!!! 
On one hand, I am disappointed cz having a Republic Governor in California will help Bush in trying to get California to vote for him in 2004; however, Arnold is much more exciting that the dull and drab Gray Davis.
On a more personal front, Arnold has promised to repeal the car tax, which means a $400-1,000 savings for a person with two cars!
:bhangra:
I thought pristine was a bush supporter 
congrats to arnie for winning that projection…
Arnie won!!
The accomplishments of this man are truly admirable. :k:
A perfect example of American Dream come true. Arnold came from Austria, stormed Hollywood first, made millions after millions thru his blockbuster movies and now will sit at the highest office in the greatest state in US.
He got my vote. All the best to him.
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Originally posted by 5Abi: *
A perfect example of *American Dream come true. Arnold came from Austria, stormed Hollywood first, made millions after millions thru his blockbuster movies and now will sit at the highest office in the greatest state in US.
He got my vote. All the best to him.
[/QUOTE]
^ you missed an important part...it should be more like..
Arnold came from Austria, stormed Hollywood first, made millions after millions thru his blockbuster movies, ** married a kennedy** and now will sit at the highest office in the greatest state in US.
:-)
I just passed by to say thanx for all the Support.
and thanx for wishing me.
Yep Nicker, lets have a bhangra rave at the governors mansion shall we now? What you say, we import PMC, Dr Zeus etc and ill bust my moves? Deal :D?
Politics in the west is based upon personalities and very little discussion takes place on policies, hence political parties put up candidates who are famous. But what has arnies fame or acting skills got to do with him running a state, absolutely nothing, this fact is missing from the mind of the western electorate, the majority of whom have abandoned voting as a waste of time.
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Originally posted by showkot: *
Politics in the west is based upon personalities **and very little discussion takes place on policies, hence political parties put up candidates who are famous. But what has arnies fame or acting skills got to do with him running a state, absolutely nothing, this fact is missing from the mind of the western electorate, **the majority of whom have abandoned voting as a waste of time*.
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70% people voted in this recall, so your last statement is dubious.. and the discussion is primarily on policies.. taxes, jobs, education, immigrants, infrastructure.. these are the issues people discussed for the most part, and this is where they rejected the old Governor and his policies and elected a fiscal Republican.. so your first statement is either borne out of ignorance or you pick-and-choose what you like and try to side-track what you don't.
And let me tell you, Arnold is so much in the center, that had he needed to go through with the whole Primary process, there are good chances that Republicans would have not allowed him the party ticket in the first place... all his popularity notwithstanding. This Recall, due to its unique nature, allowed anyone to participate (there were 135 candidates on the ballot) and once Arnold surged ahead in the polls due to his centerist views which are liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal issues, the Republican party also started endorsing him in a big way, and ditched the more right-wing conservative McClintock. Make no mistake, star power alone can not take you very far. If Bruce Willis had run for the election, he would have been soundly beaten, despite an equally impressive star power.
[QUOTE]
Originally posted by showkot: *
**Politics in the west is based upon personalities* and very little discussion takes place on policies, hence political parties put up candidates who are famous. But what has arnies fame or acting skills got to do with him running a state, absolutely nothing, this fact is missing from the mind of the western electorate, the majority of whom have abandoned voting as a waste of time.
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I have to agree with you on that one.
Arnold was elected because people are disenchanted with politicians. He was viewed as a likable outsider, with charisma and leadership qualities, that (definitely) benefitted from being a "known quantity". It's that plain and simple.
Hopefully he can translate those charisma and leadership qualities into results. IMO, he's as likely to do so as a career politician.
Faisal
When i mentioned the stats i was talking generally about voting in the west and not specifics, coz in some elections you can get 90% turnout which is not the norm, the norm is low turnouts.
Also can you please explain to me Arnies qualifications to run the 5th largest economy in the world, surely you must admit that a man of political experience is required to sort out the mess which he will be faced with. Ask any political commentator in America and they will tell you that the obviouse facts why Arnie got elected, my old politics teacher has more experience to run california than arnie.
Stu
Would you really elect a political novice to run the 5th largest economy? I thought politics in pakistan was bad when we were allowing army officers to become leaders. whose next in america for ruling position Michael jackson, madonna, brad pitt, Larry king or maybe Louis Farrakhan.
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*Originally posted by showkot: *
Faisal
When i mentioned the stats i was talking generally about voting in the west and not specifics, coz in some elections you can get 90% turnout which is not the norm, the norm is low turnouts.
Also can you please explain to me Arnies qualifications to run the 5th largest economy in the world, surely you must admit that a man of political experience is required to sort out the mess which he will be faced with. Ask any political commentator in America and they will tell you that the obviouse facts why Arnie got elected, my old politics teacher has more experience to run california than arnie.
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Well, good thing you acknowledged that you were just making a general statement, and not specific. Kinda odd though, cz this discussion is focused on CA's Recall elections. Anyway, lets move on.
Arnold is a blank slate at this point. Unless someone has a crystal ball, no one knows how he will perform as a Governor. The only thing going for him is that he is an 'outsider'; not corrupted (at this point, atleast!) by the inside politics and lobbyists which try to mould all career politicians (called Special Interests). Will he also go the same way as the other politicians, only time will tell.
However, just to clear one misconception... to be at the top spot, you don't need to be a financial expert, or an economist or a politics teacher. You can hire people to figure out all that for you. What you need to be is someone who can inspire people, who can spot and hire good talent, surround himself with wise people who are experts in their fields and make the right decisions, when presented with alternatives. You need someone who can be adaptable to work through the myriad of partisan politics and bring people to an agreement. In short, you don't need someone who is necessarily an expert in one specific field. What you need is a leader.
ps.. And oh, by the way, you may think your "old politics teacher" has more "experience (?) to run California than Arnold... well, guess what.. there is a reason your teacher remains ... well, a 'teacher', and Arnold is the Governor-elect of California! Think about it.
Nah - i don’t think Republicans can grab State of California in '04 Presidential election - not a chance in hell - majority of the California’s legislators are Democracts - and it will be a tough challenge for Arnie to face - and i don’t think he will be able to pass repeal the car tax bill - the reason why many of the Californians voted for Arnie because they have known him through his movies and all that Superstar identity - L.A is the largest county in the U.S. - and it has always been a strong hold of the Democracts - this is perhaps the first time a Republican has got majority of votes from here - and it couldn’t have been without Maria Shriver(Democract - Kennedy Connection)
Anyhow - the state of California is in great shambles - yes we got the new Governor but the problems are still there - good luck to Arnie.
"Would you really elect a political novice to run the 5th largest economy"
Reagan....
Question; what happens to the lt governor now that Arnie is elected?
Gov. Davis will step down sometime mid-November.
interesting, I just had a very tame and non-inflammatory post removed. Are we stepping up the censorship today mods?
Stu... I had read your post before it was removed. I think the mods removed your posts and posts of some others, because they were deemed off-topic. This thread is about Arnold and his election as Governor of California. If you or anyone is interested in debating the whole concept of western democracy and/or the proposed Islamic khalifa system, pls start another thread.
In answer to someone's question above, Cruz Bustamante will REMAIN the Lt. Governor of California. He did try to become the Governor, and lost quite badly (IMO), but that doesn't take away his role as Lt. Governor.
Interestingly, not only Arnold gonna face the huge financial problems of the state, but also that almost the entire state is in the hands of Democrats... from the legislature to virtually all the state officials are Democrats. So, it will be interesting to see how, as a lone Republican, Arnold can move and get things done. In addition, California has an obsession of passing fiscal rules by popular vote. So, a large portion of our expenditure is legally mandated by the voters over the years, and the Governor or anyone has very little flexibility.