U.S. Elections 2005…?

Even for high profile and hotly contested presidential elections – like Bush vs. Gore in 2000 and Bush vs. Kerry in 2004 – almost half of the Americans who are eligible to vote, fail to do so. Therefore, it is not surprising that an election day on which neither the presidency nor control of the U.S. Congress is at stake would register only anemic interest. And, yesterday’s state elections were no exception (with final turnout figures in some states expected to be less than 35%).

Nonetheless, at least one political contest was worthy not only of high profile interest but also of this post-election commentary. This was the contest in California starring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as the “champion of the people” taking on state legislators – cast as a chamber of villains “beholden to special interest” – for control of the affairs of state. The script called for Schwarzenegger to use his movie star muscle to push the legislators aside and demagogue into law a series of ballot initiatives to enhance his executive authority. Chief amongst them were initiatives lengthening the amount of time it takes public school teachers to get tenure, boosting the governor’s powers over the budget, limiting union dues and changing the way the state draws its legislative districts.

Actor Warren Beatty, with his actress wife Annette Benning peering over his right shoulder, stealing the carefully scripted (and blocked) scene that Schwarzenegger’s political director staged for the final rally of his 2005 campaign

But, perhaps because he had become so accustomed to having his way on movie sets, Schwarzenegger did not bother to read the entire script. If he had, he would’ve had notice of (and been pumped-up for) the cameo appearance of an even bigger movie star stepping-in to champion the cause of the legislators. As it was, when Warren Beatty began his scene stealing performance during the last weeks of the campaign, Schwarzenegger acted more like a 90-pound weakling than the muscle-bound Mr. Olympia that made him rich, famous and Governor of California.

For his part, Beatty – the Oscar winning actor – used all of his seasoned stagecraft to upstage the artistically challenged Schwarzenegger. And no scene was more dramatic or embarrassing for the “governator” than when Beatty showed up and essentially terminated the final rally for his ballot initiatives last weekend. Because Beatty not only drew away all of Schwarzenegger’s press coverage; he also captivated the attention of most of Schwarzenegger’s star-struck supporters who naturally gravitated to the bigger star on the Hollywood food chain. Even worse, however, was the way Beatty then delivered his glib lines – eviscerating Schwarzenegger’s political competence and his monosyllabic movie roles.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger retreating from his own political rally to escape the glare of Beatty’s celebrity and demanding to know why none of his people told him that his script called for Beatty’s scene stealing cameo

As for the ballot initiatives, well, the Schwarzenegger / Beatty political foreplay made the election results anticlimactic. Especially since political pundits characterized this contest as a preview of next year’s political blockbuster: “The Celebrity Race for Governor of California – featuring, in a typical movie twist, Beatty (in a life imitating art role) as the populist champion of the people wresting control of state affairs from Schwarzenegger – who will be (type)cast as a egomaniacal power-hungry fascist.

That’s Hollywood folks…

But click here if you’re really interested in the results of those ballot initiatives. (Hint: Schwarzenegger is washing lots of sand out of his eyes this morning…)

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