Two Cents: An Unconventional Governor

This past Tuesday, October 4, 2005, I got to schmooze with the brilliant and the articulate at a neat little dinner and political/journalism discussion with Bruce Cain (a political scientist at UC Berkeley), my freshman seminar class, and quite a few journalism graduate students. These grad students were really something. One of them even brought her daughter to the dinner, and considering that if all goes well, I'll be a grad student myself in a few years, it was a bit... daunting to realize that that could be me. With a kid. WITH A KID. I can't even see what I'm going to do tomorrow, let alone in the far-off years of grad school, and I certainly can't imagine married life and/or children.

But I digress. Grad students are pretty cool, and when Bruce Cain opened up the floor for questions, these grad students asked some really interesting questions, and Cain had some equally interesting answers. I remember one answer in particular, and that was Cain's comment on how previous gubernatorial incumbents lose public ratings because of things that happen to them, whether it be a recession or a natural disaster or whatever. Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, causes things to happen to him - and his increasingly low ratings may indicate that perhaps his actions aren't always the most advantageous.

In short, Schwarzenegger, as Cain noted, is an "unconventional governor." He's been unconventional from the start - I mean, what other political figure has gone from one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars to replacement for a recalled California governor? It was his "unconventionality" that won him the recall election, but can his unconventional moves as governor, such as his current special election, bring him reelection?

I say it's doubtful. It was unconventional popularity among the people that helped Schwarzenegger shine, but once the initial infatuation to the movie star died down, hostility towards the governor's new (and sometimes costly) plans - and to the governor himself - increased. With his approval ratings so low, and with so little support for the special election, I just don't see how this special election will help Schwarzenegger win another one in office. As interesting and as fascinating at this special election with its initiative madness is, it is definitely a costly experience, and I'm not sure if Californians are too happy with the idea of spending on an election they don't approve of.