Arnie proves a hit at politics and may be back

Net Results: In Silicon Valley no matter how many times I read it in the headlines, the phrase "Governor Schwarzenegger" appears as odd to me as, well, a 150lb weakling does walking among the bodybuilders on Los Angeles's Venice Beach, writes Karlin Lillington

But there it is, almost daily in the papers, as stories detail the larger than life Governator signing in this bill, appearing at that event, meeting with these state legislators.

Many complain that he gets an easy rap - one recent newspaper story noted how rarely the press play hardball with Arnold, instead asking deeply important questions like whether he buys his suits off the rack or needs them custom made for his physique. And he has proven to be adept at dodging tough questions, or indeed any questions at all, with a deft two-step not dissimilar to that regularly danced by Ireland's very own Teflon Taoiseach.

But here in the land that invented celebrity culture, many find it hard not to be overawed by the well-liked film star who, as he nears 59, looks as fit as he was in the first Terminator film. Not that California is unfamiliar with actor governors, but Ronald Reagan never scaled quite the same blockbuster heights as Arnie before stepping into the governor's seat in state capital Sacaramento.

Schwarzenegger has proven surprisingly good at politics, generally steering a careful political path between the Republicans, whose party he represents, and the Democrats, the party of his Kennedy-clan wife Maria Shriver (California tends to be strongly Democrat yet regularly elects Republican governors).

Back when Arnie - as he is generally referred to by everybody except newscasters - staged his election campaign, many saw him as a puppet for conservative Republicans and you could almost hear the cackles of glee from the Bush White House at the thought of having such Republican window dressing on prominent display for the world to see (or at least, American voters).

But Arnie has not exactly enamoured himself to the more conservative branch of his party.

He tends to lean well to the left on social issues like gay rights, abortion and, perhaps most interestingly, environmentalism (California is well on its way to putting through legislation that aims towards the aspirations of the Kyoto Agreement, even as Bush has snubbed it).

One gets the sense that if Republican handlers would like him to do otherwise, no one has the nerve to raise the issue with a man with biceps the circumference of a bodhrán.

Now the talk is whether the governator will be a Two Terminator. Next year is election time and with a 60 per cent approval rating, Arnie has the kind of popular pull politicians salivate over.

Will he walk away from the job or opt for a second term? Political pundits on both sides of the party fence say he actually seems to enjoy one of the most thankless jobs in state politics.

Maybe that will come to an end shortly - as well as the kid-glove treatment from the press - as he takes his plans for reform of the state budget on the road directly to voters. Arnie is annoyed that Democrats in the state senate have refused to budge on restructuring funding for programmes that Democrats see as central planks of their political platform - schools, public services, health programmes.

He has threatened to call a special election to bring his proposals directly before California voters. If the voters give the thumbs up to his proposals, he will be in excellent shape to run for a second term. As political observers note, he will have gained plenty of airtime advantage over the democrats, as he will have appeared for months on radio and television in advertisements backing his proposals.

Democrats will be hoping he will drop out and leave the battlefield open for new challengers on both sides when the next gubernatorial election rolls around. If such is the case at least Californians will be spared the endless "I'll be back" quips that are otherwise sure to appear ad nauseum.

Meanwhile, back in the Valley the weekly calendar of business events listings in the San Jose Mercury reveal (as if it needs be emphasised) what a tech-focused place this is. Of 22 listings about half are totally tech-angled with most of the rest about some aspect of entrepreneurship.

On Tuesday, for example, you could attend talks entitled "From Accidental to Intentional Entrepreneur", "How to Sell Your Business", "How to Establish a Dynamic Team and Create an Effective Board", or go to the Asia America Multitechnology Association's lecture on "Investing in China: Dream or Nightmare". On Wednesday you could stay on an Asian theme with "Untapped Opportunities in the Chinese Telecommunications Market" or trade obscure jokes about algorithms at the 15th Annual Silicon Valley Engineers Week Banquet.

If you didn't get a sore head at that, you could obtain one instead the following night when an Intel VP speaks on "Exploratory Research: Hybridizing Internal and External Innovation" or alternatively opt for the Alliance of Technology and Women's intriguingly titled lecture, "It's Not What Happens - It's How You Bounce!" (no, I have no idea what it's about, and yes, the exclamation point really is part of the title).

Or you could just stay in and watch one of Arnie's old films and wonder about a state that, between the Valley and Hollywood Boulevard, houses one of the brainiest and one of the most shallowly glam industries in the world.

klillington_at_irish-times.ie http://weblog.techno-culture.com