Upon further review: The Oakland Tribune, which had endorsed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace Gray Davis if the governor is recalled, withdrew that endorsement Saturday in the wake of more accusations that the actor-turned-politician harassed women. “It indicates a pattern of recurring abuse and boorish behavior that in different circumstances could have led to assault charges,” the paper said in an editorial. “… We can no longer in good conscience recommend him for governor.”
Still huggable? In Merced with wife, Maria Shriver, Schwarzenegger joked briefly about the bad behavior charges, pulling away when a supporter at a hamburger stand tried to hug him. “Don’t do it! Don’t do it! Otherwise it will be in the paper again,” he told her before relenting.
Trying for lift: Davis flew across California with big-name Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Jesse Jackson, in a final effort to stay in office. Recent polls indicate that more than 50 percent of the likely voters want him removed as governor. Referring to Schwarzenegger, Davis said, “Electing a governor who might have committed a crime is going to distract the state from the work it has to do.”
Unwanted advice: In a resolution Saturday, the Democratic National Committee called on Schwarzenegger to apologize for remarks in which he allegedly expressed admiration for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. But Schwarzenegger dismissed the move as “sleaze politics” and said again he despises Hitler–an assertion seconded by the Austrian in whose gym the former bodybuilder began training at age 15. Kurt Marnul said that as a teen, Schwarzenegger helped break up neo-Nazi rallies at least twice. “It’s absurd,” Marnul said. “It’s 100 percent wrong that he could have ever liked Hitler.”
