Travelin' Fool
As Gov. Arnold trots about the globe, hob-nobbing with foreign dignitaries all too eager to bask in the glow of his celebrity -- I don't remember Gray Davis getting the international VIP treatment -- some folks back home are complaining. The Daily News' own Harrison Sheppard reports:
Some critics think the governor ought to spend more time in California focused on domestic problems -- especially when there is a wildfire burning near Lake Tahoe and a constitutional deadline for the state budget approaching in less than a week -- and less time running around the globe as if he is a world leader....A small group from California Young Democrats protested the governor's trip on the grounds of the Capitol on Monday, releasing a statement headlined "Schwarzenegger Fiddles in France While Tahoe Burns" and delivering "Wish You Were Here" postcards to his office.
My favorite quote comes from Bob Mulholland, California Democratic Party hitman and arguably the most partisan person in all of Sacramento (and that's saying something!):
It's just all about Arnold. It's not about the people of California. And if he stays there long enough, he'll see the smoke from the Lake Tahoe fire blowing over Europe.
Give Bob his due -- he always has the best lines.
Interesting, to me, though, that L.A.'s biggest political stars -- Arnold, Antonio, Bratton -- all choose to get out of town as much as humanly possible. What does that tell us?