Arnold and the American Elections
Nov 10, 2006 by David Hughes

On a bad day for the Republican party, there was one bright spot. It came in the success of one of the World’s most remarkable, and admirable, individuals. Arnold Schwarzenegger won a second term as Governor of (not notably conservative) California. Arnold (I´ll use his first name to save characters) is often sneered at in Europe, I think unfairly. He’s a man who has achieved in 4 separate fields more distinction than most ever manage in one. In sport, in business, in entertainment and in politics, he has triumphed.

Arnold´s first success was in bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is very much a minority sport, with rival governing bodies and subjective judging. Yet the demands it makes of competitors, the athleticism of men like Arnold, should not be denied. He won bodybuilding’s top title, the Mr Olympia 7 times. For all that 2 of his wins were highly controversial and one was unopposed, for all that 2 athletes have won it more times since then and that Arnold at his peak would look small to modern bodybuilders, Arnold is still the only bodybuilder well known beyond the sport. If he walked down the street with Lee Haney, who is widely regarded to have shown the best physique ever at a Mr Olympia in 1986, people would still ask who the other guy was.

A considerable part of Arnold’s popularity must be down to Charles Gaines and George Butler. In their book about bodybuilding, pumping iron, these cultured and sophisticated men drew a line from the statues of antiquity to bodybuilders of Arnold’s time, seeing beyond the tacky adverts so often associated with the sport. In the film of the same name (the French title was Arnold le magnifique), Arnold, who at the time was king of his sport but unknown to the wider World, manages to be both supremely arrogant and immensely charming as he easily wins his 6th Mr Olympia.

Parents worried about a son spending too much time in the gym should use Arnold as a role model. He saw beyond the gym and the next context, saving and investing wisely enough to become a self-made millionaire by the age of 30, (despite bodybuilding prizes being tiny).

Some people belittle Arnold’s films. I must admit that Commando isn’t as good as it seemed 20 years ago, but Terminator is a classic and films like Predator and Running Man are excellent entertainment. Arnold may not be the greatest actor, but his movies have given immense enjoyment to millions of people around the World. That’s not a bad achievement.

In politics, Arnold has won 2 elections is a huge state, whose electorate would not be thought predisposed to vote Republican. California is a difficult state to govern, but to win the recall election in 2003 and do a good enough job to win again this year despite a big swing away from his party shows that he must be doing something right.

Whatever conclusions one draws from the congressional elections, the California gubernatorial is yet more evidence of the remarkable nature of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Perhaps other Republicans should look at him, perhaps at the centrist approach he’s taken to politics in office or his concern for the environment (in contrast to the President’s reckless attitude towards it) and learn some lessons. After all, politics is a competitive sport, and Arnold is certainly a winner.